Vigilante Justice
by Bill K
Summary: A mysterious person is killing organized crime figures and the senshi intervene before a gang war envelops Tokyo.
1. Plots And Plans

VIGILANTE JUSTICE

Chapter 1: "Plots and Plans"

A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

Sailor Moon and all related characters are (c)2009 by Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha and Toei Animation and are used without permission, but with respect. Story is (c)2009 by Bill K.

* * *

It was already becoming hot for June. Ami Mizuno noticed the heat as she ascended the steps of Hikawa Shrine. Coming from an air-conditioned hospital via an air-conditioned car to this shrine that depended on the good will of the gods to provide a breeze didn't do much for Ami's energy. She told herself it was just a matter of concentrating and not dwelling on the effects of the heat, but she was feeling the beginnings of a headache coming. Since it was located near her upper sinus cavity, Ami concluded that the heat was responsible. She would have postponed her trip all together, but Rei had asked her over and it had been a while since she'd visited with Rei.

"Rei?" she called, entering the shrine's main building.

It was the most logical place for her to be. However Rei wasn't there. Nobody was there, in fact. The grounds were empty, no doubt due to the unseasonable heat. Undaunted, Ami walked around back to where Rei kept her household. The door was closed. Ami climbed up onto the back porch and rapped on the door.

"Ami! Hi!" Rei said after opening the door. She ushered the woman into the room and closed the door. "I'm glad you could come. Did you see anybody out on the grounds?"

"No. Were you expecting someone?"

"No, I just don't want to neglect a customer," Rei replied. Then her eyes grew large. "I mean - - someone who is - - looking for enlightenment!"

Ami twittered at Rei's crimson cheeks. Then she noticed the book open on the desk.

"English?" Ami queried.

"Yeah," Rei nodded. "I got these tapes, too. I've been practicing with them at night. With headphones, I can listen to them while I clean the grounds."

"You're serious about visiting America?" Ami asked.

"Well yeah!" Rei exclaimed. "Derek's baseball team is in San Francisco July fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh. And Ryoko was able to get me this great deal on the internet on an airline ticket from Tokyo to Honolulu to San Francisco and back. I can actually afford it," and she flushed slightly, "with the two thousand yen Usagi loaned me." Rei became misty-eyed. "It'll be the first time I've seen him since last October."

"You two still write, don't you?" Ami asked.

"Yeah," Rei sighed, "but it's not the same. That's why I was so easy to convince when the opportunity to take the trip came up." Rei grinned. "I've got to see that man again!"

"If you had a computer, you could keep in touch with him via e-mail," Ami suggested. "And you could follow his exploits on the net. You could even set up a web-cam . . ."

"A computer is not an expense I can afford," Rei replied. "Plus, how would it look for a Shinto Shrine to have a computer?"

"I doubt the gods would mind," Ami told her with a smirk. "And I'm about to upgrade. I could let you have my old one. Admittedly it only has 400 gigs of memory, but I imagine it would be suitable for your needs."

Rei grimaced. Ami could see she was reluctant, more out of mistrust of technology than anything. "I'll - - think about it," she replied.

"So how long have you been learning English?"

"Since April. I want to be able to at least communicate on a functional level when I'm in America and I doubt very many of them know Japanese. If it's OK with you, I'd like you to tell me how I'm doing."

"[Certainly]," Ami replied in flawless English, honed by eight years of study at Oxford. "[Say something to me in English]."

"Um," Rei began, brow furrowed. "[Me am pleased to meet you. Can you directing I to the baseball game]?"

"Well, you're . . ." Ami began.

"In English, please," Rei requested.

"[Very well. Your sentence structure is correct. However, you're using the wrong pronouns with the wrong tense of verb]."

Rei stared, confused.

"You're using the wrong pronoun with the wrong tense," Ami repeated in Japanese. "'I' needs to be used with 'am', while in the second sentence you wanted 'direct' with the pronoun 'me'."

"'I' with 'am'," Rei repeated, trying to commit it to memory.

"You've got another month yet, Rei," Ami consoled her. "You've made remarkable progress for two months." An idea occurred to Ami. "Perhaps you could rent a few anime DVDs that have English subtitles as well as the Chinese track. Reading English while hearing the dialog in Japanese might help you recognize and remember better."

"Well," Rei grimaced again, "I'd have to have a DVD player - - and a TV set."

"Oh, yes. And streaming video is out without an internet connection. Rei, you really must join the twenty-first century." Rei grimaced with chagrin. "Well," Ami sighed with resignation, "I suppose I can give you a couple of Saturday afternoons to work with you."

"Oh I really hate to impose, Ami," Rei groaned.

"It's all . . ."

"But if you are willing, would this Saturday be OK?" Rei asked. Internally Ami sighed again. She couldn't escape the thought that her tutoring Rei was one of the reasons Rei had asked her over.

* * *

Sanjuro Ikegami entered the apartment where he and his family lived. The burly dock worker inhaled, trying to expel the fatigue that saturated every fiber of his being. The idea of running a restaurant with Makoto looked more and more appealing every day. But with two young children now, where would they find the time?

And where would they find the money?

No one had greeted his entry. His first thought was that Makoto had been called away on Sailor business. Sanjuro moved to the phone stand in the living room, where she would have taped the note telling him where she'd left the kids. That's when he found Akiko.

Akiko was off in a corner of the room, silently coloring in her coloring book. To Sanjuro's eyes, the girl looked lonely and a little depressed. He had a suspicion why, but why wasn't important right now. The huge man knelt down next to her. Only then did she look up at him.

"Hi, Daddy," she smiled.

"Hi, Sweetie," Sanjuro replied gently. "You all alone?"

"Mommy is taking care of Ichiro," Akiko told him. The resignation in her voice was heartbreaking. "I know I'm not supposed to bother Mommy when she's taking care of Ichiro."

"Yeah," Sanjuro sympathized. His massive hand stroked the child's hair. "But you still miss the time Mommy could spend with you, don't you?"

Akiko wouldn't answer at first, fearing a scolding. Finally, though, she rewarded her father's patience with a simple nod.

"Well, Daddy's home," Sanjuro said, holding his fatigue at bay. "You want to spend some time with Daddy?"

Akiko looked up, beaming, and nodded. And Sanjuro remembered the times Makoto would look at him when they were dating, joyous and grateful that he was who he was. The resemblance was there.

"Hi, San-San," Makoto said, adjusting her blouse as she entered the living room minutes later. "I heard you come in, but I couldn't get away. I just finished giving Ichiro dinner."

"That's good, Babe," her husband told her. Then he returned to the coloring book in the lap of Akiko, who sat on his massive lap. "So why color the sky green?"

"I like green," Akiko replied, as if that alone should end the discussion.

"But that's not what the color of the sky is, hon'," Makoto leaned in. "The sky is blue."

"Well I want it to be green," Akiko huffed. She began scribbling wide green strokes across the page with the green crayon lodged in her pudgy fingers.

"Nobody's going to know it's the sky if it's green," Makoto argued.

"I don't care," Akiko scowled.

"Akiko," Makoto said, kneeling down so she was eye-level with the child. "Don't be rude. That's not what a lady would do."

"Well I'm not a lady," Akiko growled, staring at the coloring book and continuing to scribble green all over the page. Then Sanjuro's hand gently closed over hers, swallowing it up.

"Hey," Sanjuro interjected with a soft voice. "If you want the sky to be green in your picture, it can be green. It's your picture. But that's no reason to be rude to your Mommy."

Akiko scowled. "I'm sorry, Daddy."

Makoto rose to full height. "I'll go fix dinner."

Forty minutes later, Sanjuro found his wife elbow deep in one of her typical culinary delights. The things she could do with rice, vegetables and some meat were truly wonders. It was one of the reasons why he was always bored when one of the cooking shows Makoto obsessed on was being broadcast: Nobody on those shows were as good at what they did as she was.

"Smells good," Sanjuro said, the scents from the kitchen invigorating his tired frame.

"Thanks," Makoto replied, subdued. "Is Akiko over it?"

"What, before? Yeah."

"I wish you wouldn't encourage her like that."

"Like what?"

"The sky is blue, not green. You're teaching her things that aren't so."

"It's a coloring book. A month from now, who's going to care?"

"I'll care. You should back me up."

"I did."

"She was deliberately challenging me," Makoto argued.

"And when she stepped over the line, I pulled her back," Sanjuro retorted. "Babe, you've got to give her some control over little things like this. She doesn't have a lot of it, especially now that she has to share her world. She wants some things that she can control, and if one of them is coloring a sky green in a coloring book, let her."

"Fine. Does she have to be so resentful of me? It's like she still blames me for giving birth to Ichiro. And she's afraid to hate him because of that 'oni' story, so she's turning it on me now."

"She doesn't hate you, Babe," Sanjuro maintained. Makoto's response was to slam a spoon onto the stove top. Sanjuro gathered her in and Makoto clung to him in spite of herself.

"I want to spend time with her," Makoto admitted. "But Ichiro needs so much. And I need a little time, too. It seems like the only time I can be me is when I'm cooking dinner. And I can't help but be afraid that if I do give in and spend some time with her, it's just going to reinforce the idea that she can get her way by being petulant."

"You've been reading those child-rearing books too much," Sanjuro told her. "Babe, you've got good instincts. Don't be afraid to use them. To Hell with the books. Akiko turned out pretty good for the two plus years you've been with her. Now we get one bump in the road and you start doubting yourself. Personally I think you've done a great job."

"Thanks," Makoto cooed.

"Except for coloring books, of course."

"Rat," Makoto grumbled and punched him playfully.

"The way you go at her, I almost think you secretly want to color in them yourself," Sanjuro joked.

"Get off me," Makoto shoved him away with mock indignance. "Dinner's almost ready. Get cleaned up."

As Makoto brought out the last dish, Sanjuro was lifting Akiko up to her seat atop two books stacked on a chair. He pushed the chair up to the table.

"My, you get bigger every day, Akiko," Sanjuro said to the girl. She was big for her age. "Must be all of your Mommy's good cooking that does that to you."

"What are we having?" Akiko asked and Makoto saw the light of anticipation dancing in her daughter's eyes.

"Grilled fish," Makoto responded. "With steamed rice and mixed vegetables." Akiko's eyes lit up.

"You like that, huh?" Sanjuro asked.

"Oh, yes! Mommy's grilled fish is wonderful!" Akiko exclaimed. She reached for the fish. Sanjuro started to head her off, but Makoto stopped him.

"Let her," Makoto said.

"It's not something a lady would do," Sanjuro whispered to her.

"I guess she's got plenty of time to be a lady yet," Makoto answered. "Let's let her be a kid."

"Can I have some vegetables?" Akiko asked.

"'May' I have some vegetables," Sanjuro corrected.

"Yes, Daddy, but after me!" Akiko protested. Sanjuro and Makoto glanced at each other and giggled.

* * *

Junichi Yabu was the law in the twelfth district. Everywhere he went, he was respected or feared - - which, to him, was the same thing. Everyone deferred to his will. Everything that happened in the district happened because he approved it. He was Yakuza, in charge of this district, and he ran the district with savvy and with a dispassionate eye toward business. Nothing affected his decisions other than what was best for business. Sentiment didn't enter into it, nor ego, anger or loyalty. You produced, you found favor. You didn't, and Yabu cut his losses.

He was, at forty-two, still handsome in a rough sort of way. His jet black hair was cut and styled to flatter him. His features were marked here and there, but on the whole retained some of their allure. His body was still trim and fit, as fit as it had been when Junichi was an up and coming tough. But his eyes, dull brown and eternally hidden behind designer Ray-Ban dark glasses, were cold. They judged, but they rarely felt.

He dined with two of his bodyguards, both blatantly Yakuza toughs, and his accountant at a fine restaurant in Roppongi. Yabu ate and listened to his accountant speak, in general terms that couldn't be used as evidence, of how the district business was going for the financial second quarter. For ninety percent of the pachinko parlors in the district were run by Junichi Yabu and his organization. Eighty-five percent of the "friendship" clubs where salarymen drank and were fawned over by pretty girls were run by Junichi Yabu. And more serious matters like drugs, bootleg media and pornographic photography were under Yabu's control, too. That's why he could afford to dress nicely and look respectable and eat in a fine establishment in Roppongi. And because he was smart about his business, it was why Superintendent Sakurada could only glare at him impotently from afar.

After his dinner was finished, Yabu and his associates left the restaurant and ventured out into the June evening. Darkness had brought a temporary end to the heat of the day and the stars were out in force in the indigo sky. Yabu waited at the door while his bodyguard checked ahead and his other bodyguard kept an eye behind them. When they were satisfied, the four people moved out onto the street. The man's trusted driver had brought Yabu's black limousine around and the motor was idling.

Suddenly, someone impacted with Yabu out of nowhere. As the form bounced off of the sturdy Yakuza boss and fell to the pavement, the two bodyguards pulled out harsh-looking .45 automatics from under their suit coats. They all looked down - - and found a girl, probably no more than fifteen. She had long black hair gathered behind her neck with a green ribbon and thick black eyeglass frames perched on a face that was quiet but had the makings of an attractive female. She wore a green skirt and sailor tunic from one of the local middle schools and a satchel lay inches from her. The girl sat on the pavement, stunned, her legs spread wide and her mouth pinched in pain. Then her senses collected and she realized what had happened.

"OH MY GOODNESS, I'M SO SORRY!" she gasped, looking up at Yabu through the thick glasses on her face. "I was in a hurry and wasn't watching where I was going! It's entirely my fault! Please forgive me!"

Then the girl noticed where the eyes of the two bodyguards were looking. Realizing that her skirt had pulled up and revealed a hint of her panties, the girl jammed her hands between her legs to secure the skirt while her face twisted in mortification.

And something unusual happened. Junichi Yabu surrendered to human sentiment.

"Here," Yabu said, extending his hand to her as his bodyguards snickered. "Let me help you up. It looks like you took more damage from this than I did."

"Thank you!" she gasped, taking the hand and allowing Yabu to pull her to her feet. "I'm so sorry this happened! You're very kind!"

Her hand then locked onto Yabu's. In one sweeping motion, the girl's other hand swung around and sliced across Yabu's throat. Blood sprayed out from the gash across his throat, made with the razor blade that was at this moment flying from the girl's hand. She released Yabu's hand, pivoted in one motion and kicked hard, nailing the lead bodyguard in the groin. While the trailing guard drew a bead on where she was, the girl leaped up and somersaulted in a complete circle. Her foot, which now had a sharp blade sticking out from the toe of her black patent leather shoe, came down on the gun hand. The blade gashed the hand and the guard pulled back reflexively, dropping his weapon.

In a single motion, the girl landed, scooped up the gun and shot the trailing guard twice in the chest point blank. She whirled and caught the lead guard once in the head. One more bullet went into the driver of the idling limousine. Turning, she saw the accountant fleeing into the parking lot. One shot, aimed between the shoulder blades, felled him. Her work done, the girl fled into the evening, gun in hand, amid the horrified shouts of restaurant patrons, staff and people in the parking lot.

Continued in Chapter 2


	2. New Beginnings

VIGILANTE JUSTICE

Chapter 2: "New Beginnings"

A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

In a busy computer electronics store in mid-June, two women browsed the stock of computers. One had shoulder-length black hair and wore a knit pullover and vest with jeans tucked into boots. She disdained makeup, though she really didn't need much. Her companion also wore jeans and a quiet blouse, with athletic shoes on her feet. Her black hair was cropped short and she wore dark glasses inside the shop. Her face was made up expertly, denoting care and experience at cosmetics. However, it was a bit incongruous with her low-rent ensemble.

"That's not the usual reaction people have to being in my presence," Minako said as Ryoko stifled a yawn.

"Sorry," Ryoko replied, "but this is a little early for me. I work nights, remember?"

They continued looking at the displays of merchandise.

"If that wig itches so much, just take it off," Ryoko commented when she noticed Minako scratching her scalp again.

"And be mobbed by my adoring fans?" Minako responded with astonishment. "I mean, I love them and all, but I need some privacy every so often."

"Sometimes I wonder if these 'throngs of fans' you always talk about are in your head," Ryoko smiled cynically.

"Don't challenge me, girl," Minako said, returning the cynical smile with one of her own. "One day I'll take you along when I'm not in disguise and you'll see for yourself. If it's not star-struck fans, it's the press."

"OK, OK, to work. Now this is a pretty good computer set-up," and Ryoko pointed to a model on display. "If you're going to buy retail and not get it custom built, this is probably best for you. It gives you the ability to install the features you want, the software bundles you want, and is pretty reliable."

"What do you think?" Minako asked. "They all look alike to me."

"Well, I still think you should get a custom job," Ryoko admitted. "I know someone who builds computers and he's just as reliable as the big name companies. He's even more reliable than a few of them. Of course, if you HAVE to have that brand name or you HAVE to have that warranty, go with this. It's a good machine and a fairly affordable price."

"I don't worry about the price," Minako smirked. "The way my last CD sold, money is no object."

"You better be careful thinking like that," Ryoko warned. "You know, the shelf life on a pop sensation isn't too long. There may come a day when you're not 'the hot new thing'."

"I don't have to stand here and listen to blasphemy," Minako shot back.

"May I help you ladies?" an energetic young sales associate asked. Minako and Ryoko turned to him, but it was Minako who smiled.

"Why, yes you may," she grinned, impressed with the young man's look. "I'll take that one." She pointed to the computer they were looking at.

"An excellent choice, ma'am," the associate smiled. He brought up a clip board with a form on it. "We can install any drivers, peripherals and software packages you care to have and ship it to your home or office."

"Just give me all of them," Minako drooled. Ryoko could tell her friend's eyes were popping even behind the dark glasses.

"Um, I'll choose the best package for you," Ryoko said, intercepting the clipboard.

"Very well," the associate said, concealing his disappointment. "If you'll come over to the counter, you can complete your order."

At the counter, Ryoko began checking the add-ons she felt Minako would need. Minako stood and fidgeted.

"Honestly, the way you were drooling over that salesman," Ryoko murmured. "I know it's only been six months, but you ARE still married."

"Just because you buy a beautiful painting doesn't mean you can't go to an art gallery anymore," Minako replied, glancing the sales clerk's way again.

Ryoko stopped writing and tried to mentally digest that statement.

"So have you decided to go out with Seiji yet?" Minako asked.

Ryoko sighed.

"Now what are you scared about?" Minako gasped.

"I don't know, Minako," Ryoko grimaced. "He's probably a nice guy, but - - the idea of a blind date . . ."

"Don't think of it as a 'blind date'," Minako replied with unnecessary drama. "Think of it as 'a golden opportunity life has offered you'. But don't wait too long. Life has the nasty habit of withdrawing golden opportunities at a moment's notice if you don't act quickly."

"You sound like an info-mercial," Ryoko scowled. Then her shoulders slumped. "But what if I don't like him?"

"You don't go out with him again."

"But what if he doesn't like me?"

"Ryoko!" Minako said, grasping the woman's shoulders and forcing her face to face. "This is going to work. You have to trust me on this."

"Why are you so certain?" Ryoko asked.

"Because," Minako began. How to explain it? She couldn't reveal that she was Sailor Venus and that Ryoko had been Sailor Venus in an alternate reality, or that she and Seiji had been happily married in that reality. "Well, because you and Seiji were - - in love - - in another time and another place. And I'm just - - reuniting you two."

"You believe in reincarnation?" Ryoko questioned her.

"Oh yeah. And you and Seiji were in love in another time and another place," Minako assured her. "Just like me and Toshi-Chan were, and not me and blonde bad boys who really need to butt out of my life."

Ryoko stared at her.

"Just go on the date, already!" Minako barked. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"He turns out to be a serial killer and he cuts me into little bits?" Ryoko replied.

"Gee, no wonder you aren't married," Minako quipped.

"Here's your invoice, ma'am," the sales associate interjected. "Will that be cash or charge?" Minako handed him a credit card.

"Isn't that going to blow your cover?" Ryoko asked.

"Nope," Minako replied smugly. "I set up a charge card under an alias so I can use it when I'm incognito."

Ryoko goggled at first. Then a smile of admiration grew on her.

"OK," she conceded. "Points to you for deviousness."

"Thank you," Minako replied proudly. "Now, about Seiji . . ."

"OK, OK," Ryoko gasped. "I surrender. I'll go!" She pointed a finger at Minako. "But if this blows up in my face, you are NEVER going to hear the end of it."

"I'm not worried," Minako smiled confidently.

* * *

On that same mid-June day Usagi sat in a business district restaurant not far from the OSA-P Jewelry store Naru's mother owned. As usual, she had a huge meal in front of her, most of it deliciously bad for her. But this time she wasn't voraciously attacking it. For across the table from her was the former and future Naru Osaka and the news Naru bore was enough to kill most of Usagi's appetite.

"Well maybe there's still hope for you two," Usagi offered desperately. Naru was too depressed to notice the anguish in her friend. She was just glad for the company and support. It was why she asked to meet Usagi for lunch out of the blue. Naru knew she could count on dear old Usagi for soft words and a strong shoulder.

"I'm afraid not, Usagi," Naru sighed as she picked at her salad.

"Don't say that!" Usagi pleaded. "Maybe if the two of you just got away for a while - - a second honeymoon or something!"

"You're not listening, Usagi," Naru grimaced. "Umino won't take the time. That's the whole problem." She put her hand to her forehead, searching her feelings for a way to express them. "He's so driven to prove that he's worthy of me, worthy of his son, worthy of the admiration that he's earned, that," and she sighed heavily, "I can't take it anymore."

"But," Usagi said, struggling to understand what she clearly couldn't, "I thought you two loved each other."

"I do," Naru said softly. "But I can't do this anymore. He's killing himself trying to be the best there is and I can't talk him down. He's a fine provider and a fine protector, but I need more than that. I need a partner - - a companion. I don't need to be a widow before I'm thirty."

She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. "And Yuki needs a father, not a paycheck."

"But you can still work things out if you really love each other. And I know you do!"

"Usagi," Naru groaned. "I know you don't want to believe this, but love doesn't conquer everything. It can't stand up to someone who can't listen, who can't compromise, who - - who can't believe that someone could actually love him for him and not for what he can accomplish. And there's only so much love can do to help you give ground or endure things you normally wouldn't put up with."

"But Naru, divorce is so final. Are you sure?"

Naru inhaled deeply to steady herself. "I'm sure I can't keep doing this. Maybe it's the wrong move. But it's the only one I see available to me that can get me some peace of mind. And maybe - - maybe this will be the wake up call Umino needs. Maybe it will get him to stop killing himself with work and take time for the important things in life. It's going to be painful, but if it saves him, it'll be worth it."

"Well you've certainly thought this out," Usagi concluded. "So what will you do? How will you live?"

"I don't know yet," Naru smiled ruefully. "Guess I haven't thought it all out yet. I know I don't want anything from Umino. I'm not doing this for money. I hope we can work out some sort of support for Yuki. I still want Umino to be Yuki's father. But I don't want anything else from him - - except his respect."

"I know Umino will agree to that," Usagi offered.

"If I haven't managed to make him bitter and resentful," Naru added. "Beyond that - - I don't know. I'm not really qualified to do anything. Mom's been after me for years to go into the jewelry shop with her. I hate to go running back to Mom, though. It's not striking much of a blow for the new, independent me. But my first priority is providing for Yuki." Naru smiled. "You know he's starting first grade. I almost lost it when I saw him in his school uniform. You want to see a picture?"

"Sure!" Usagi said. Naru dug a photo out of her purse and handed it to her friend. "Oh my goodness! He's so adorable!"

"Yeah," Naru smiled. "He's growing up too fast, Usagi. I wish I could keep him this age forever."

"Then you'll miss the handsome young man he's going to turn into," Usagi chuckled, handing the picture back. She sobered. "Naru, please call me if you need anything. I mean it. I don't want you to be too proud or too embarrassed to ask me for help if you need it."

"Don't you ever get tired of saving me?" Naru murmured.

"Hmm?" Usagi asked and Naru realized her friend had heard her.

"Nothing," Naru responded quickly. "Well, I've got to get back to the shop and take Yuki off of Mom's hands before he has all the necklaces out of their cases. Thanks for listening. I'll keep you posted. And give Mamoru a kiss for me."

"Sure," Usagi smiled with a deep melancholy. Then she signaled the waitress. "Can I get this in a to-go box?"

The woman looked at the plate piled with food. "You may need more than one," she said.

* * *

One of the seedier portions of Tokyo were the "flesh strips". They were rows of night clubs, former theaters and storefronts that had been converted into strip clubs, bars and camera clubs. The commodity was the promise of sex. Actual sexual encounters rarely happened. It was a place for tired salarymen to go after work and get intoxicated while young women in sexy attire fawned over them and slyly got them to buy more overpriced liquor. It was a place for men to go to watch women they could never have disrobe and dance for them. It was a place where women who needed money or had few other career options could pose for amateur photographers in whatever state of undress had been agreed on, or for professional photographers who would take and sell the pictures in magazines or on the net here and overseas. It was an area where the chief commodity was a woman's body and the people who traded in them knew there would always be a demand - - and always be a supply.

"Hey, Takashi!" Jiro Wakatsu called out, his arm draped around a nervous young female. "I got a new one! She's really cute, too!" The girl was fifteen, with shoulder length black hair and a little lip gloss on a cute, innocent face. Her slim body was decked in jeans and a light blue blouse.

They were in a second floor room above a strip club. Jiro Wakatsu and Takashi Keibu were partners in the picture business. Smooth-talking Jiro would recruit women to model for photos. Takashi would take the pictures. He also handled the mail-orders and maintained the website. Even including the cut they gave the Yakuza, it was a profitable business, particularly if the model was willing to pose nude or in various fetish costumes. Those photos paid more than the bikini shots, though the models still only received about five percent of what the pictures sold for.

Takashi emerged from the inner office. He was tall, thin and sullen. A cigarette dangled from his lip and his black hair dangled across his forehead into his eyes. Jiro, on the other hand, was handsome, smiling, upbeat and energetic. He was fast and smooth and seemed to be able to read what a woman was looking for, a trait that allowed him to talk a trusting female into a lot of things she wouldn't normally do. Takashi looked the new girl over.

"She'll do," Takashi nodded. "You explain everything to her?"

"No problem," Jiro smiled. "I figure we can start her on high heels and stockings and if she can handle more, we'll go to the higher paying stuff."

"Um," the girl began hesitantly, "then it doesn't matter that I'm fifteen?"

"That makes it even better," Jiro replied. "Opens up a whole new marketing avenue. Jailbait photos are guaranteed sales. You can clean up." The girl seemed to grow more excited.

Then Takashi came over and began running his hand up and down the girl's torso. She cringed from him and squealed in alarm.

"What the Hell?" Jiro growled. "You trying to mess up the deal?"

"Just checking," Takashi told him. "You remember all those vigilante killings recently? Word on the street is the killer is a fifteen year old girl. I just want to be safe." As an after-thought, he turned to the girl and muttered, "Sorry."

"Forgive him," Jiro told the girl. "My partner is very crude. He's a victim of his low upbringing. But he's very good with a camera. He'll make you look stunning."

Jiro led the girl to a room and instructed her to change into the proper costume. He then went over to Takashi, who was setting up his lights and his camera tripod.

"You really thought she was the vigilante killer?" Jiro asked.

"Doesn't hurt to be cautious," Takashi responded. "So, do you think you can get her to do some nude shots?"

"Oh, yeah," Jiro smiled. "She'll need some coaxing, but she wants that money bad enough to do it. And then, once we've got nudes of her, we can blackmail her into doing bondage, s&m, lesbian, anything. She seems like the type who'll cave on something like that."

"Good," Takashi said. "It's always nice to get fresh . . ."

Takashi stopped in mid-sentence when he saw Jiro grab suddenly for his throat. It took a few moments for him to focus on the shuriken sticking out of Jiro's throat. He whirled around to face the direction the weapon had come from, realizing it was the direction of the changing room. He turned just in time to see their new recruit standing near him. Then her foot impacted with his jaw and he went down in a heap.

The world spun for a few moments. Takashi struggled to get up. Jiro was laying beside him, gurgling on his own blood and struggling for air that would never come to him. He was right. It was her. It had to be. The phantom that all the criminals in Tokyo were murmuring about was here. Summoning his strength, Takashi pushed himself up to a sitting position and looked around to find her.

She was standing over him, holding his camera by the tripod. It was raised above the girl's head like a bludgeon. Then, like an approaching bullet train, the camera and tripod descended and struck him across the head. Takashi went down and black flooded his conscious memory. He wasn't awake for the second blow.

By the fifteenth, his head resembled a burst, overripe pumpkin. Carefully the girl wiped the tripod for her fingerprints, then set it next to the bodies. She paused in the studio only long enough to wipe the blood from her face and body and put her clothes back on. Then she was gone, like a morning vapor.

Continued in Chapter 3


	3. Crossfire

VIGILANTE JUSTICE

Chapter 3: "Crossfire"

A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

The senshi, in their civilian identities, were at Hineda Airport. Rei Hino was about to board an Air Nippon flight to Honolulu, Hawaii. From there, she would fly to San Francisco to surprise Derek Johnson, her favorite baseball player and long-distance romance. His San Diego Padres would be in San Francisco to play the Giants and Rei planned to occupy his off-field hours. The others were there to see her off.

"Have you got everything you need?" Usagi asked Rei.

"Why, were you going to buy me a new wardrobe?" Rei shot back with a sly look on her face. Usagi pulled back and began to sputter as the gang giggled.

"Er, ah, NO!" Usagi stammered out. "It's just - - Rei Hino, you're only carrying one suitcase!"

"I'm only going to be there four days," Rei countered. They were headed away from baggage check-in to the main airport mall. "And it's not like I've got a lot to pack."

"And it's not like she's going to be spending most of her time actually wearing clothes," Minako slipped in with a leer. Ami blushed, but Rei slipped Minako a conspiratorial grin.

"Why is that, Mommy?" Akiko asked Makoto. Makoto had Ichiro in one arm and her free hand holding onto the leash and harness that was around Akiko. The girl had already nearly pulled her arm out of the socket three times marveling at all the new wonders of Hineda Airport.

"Um," Makoto began nervously. Then Rei leaned in.

"Your Aunt Rei plans to take a lot of baths," she assured the child. Akiko nodded as if she understood, even thought she really didn't. But they passed a hostess dressed in traditional, almost geisha-like attire. Akiko turned and stared at the woman and her quandary was quickly forgotten. Akiko also hadn't noticed how tense her mother was, though Ami and Minako did.

"It's too bad Ryoko couldn't come to see you off," Usagi said.

"Well, the poor woman has to sleep sometime," Rei replied. "She called me at the shrine last night and wished me luck."

"Does this mean you're finally through with being suspicious of her?" Minako asked.

"'Cautious' and 'suspicious' are two different things," Rei countered.

"I know," Minako replied, deadpan. "Are you through being suspicious of her?"

"Get bent," Rei muttered.

"Flight 261 for Honolulu is now boarding at Gate 4," the public address system announced. "All passengers for Flight 261, please come to Gate 4 and have your boarding passes ready."

"That's my flight," Rei announced. She was looking in the general direction of Usagi and Ami. Suddenly, as if slapped, she turned and looked at Makoto. Makoto swallowed nervously.

"Makoto, I'll be all right. You don't have to worry," Rei smiled reassuringly. "I haven't had any premonitions or any danger vibes."

"Well, that's good to hear," Makoto exhaled, her phobia about airports and airliners making her a nervous wreck. "But I'll stop worrying when one of us gets a call from you from America."

"Good luck, Rei," Ami said, grasping her friend's hands. "I hope you have a good time and find everything you want."

"Thanks, Ami," Rei replied.

"[How's your English]?" Ami asked.

"[I hope I will perform acceptably]," Rei replied. Everybody but Minako gave them a curious look. Minako just smiled.

"Knock his socks off," Minako told her with a grin. Rei nodded.

Usagi stepped in and took her hands. She wanted to say something, but seemed reluctant.

"What?" Rei finally demanded.

"Don't snap at me!" Usagi bristled. "I can't help feeling that this is the last time I'm ever going to see you!"

"I told Makoto the plane won't go down," Rei sighed.

"No! I mean," Usagi stumbled, "what if you go to San Francisco and you like being with Derek so much that you decide to stay? I know how hard it was for you two to part last time."

"Usagi . . ."

"I'LL BE TOTALLY FINE WITH IT IF YOU DO!" Usagi gasped. "Because - - you love him and he loves you. But I'll miss you a lot."

"Usagi, I'm only going to be in America four days," Rei assured her. "I'm not going to stay there, no matter how tempting Derek is. I couldn't live in America. I couldn't live anywhere except Japan. I'll be back."

"And leave the man you love? What are you, crazy?" Usagi asked incredulously.

"Why, are you trying to get rid of me?"

"No!"

"Well it sounds like you are!"

"Oh, PTTTTTTTTTTTPH!" Usagi exclaimed, her tongue wagging.

"Ditz," Rei scowled. Akiko laughed heartily.

"Flight 261 for Honolulu is now boarding at Gate 4," the public address system announced again.

"Better go," Rei said. Usagi grabbed her hand.

"Rei?" she whimpered.

"I'll be back," Rei assured her. "I'll bring you some candy from America."

Rei turned and headed for Gate 4. Everyone watched her leave and only turned away when she was out of sight. Ami observed that Makoto was still nervous.

"Makoto," Ami said, patting her on the back, "statistically, air travel is much safer than car travel."

"Especially if you're traveling to America," Minako quipped. "Those cars always seem to sink into the Pacific." Makoto snickered in spite of herself and Minako added another mark to her personal score.

Just then a gasp of alarm went up amid the crowds of people at Hineda Airport. Several screams and cries quickly followed and everyone turned to the noise. A man was sprawled awkwardly across some seats in a waiting area. A tortoiseshell kogai kanzashi (a long pointed rod designed to pin a woman's hair above her head) was sticking out of his eye. Two burly men in dark suits were pursuing a smallish woman in the process of shedding her decorative kimono as she fled. Her black hair was flowing behind her. Her face was painted white with decorative red lips. Ami recalled seeing her greeting the crowds at the airport, almost as a symbolic traditional hostess. Underneath the kimono were black pants and a black vest that seemed both protective and a place to store weapons.

"Let's go!" Minako exclaimed. Ami and Usagi nodded and started forward.

"Uh," they heard Makoto begin. Then everybody suddenly remembered Akiko and Ichiro. No one was there to take charge of Makoto's children. They turned and saw Makoto had the same realization, that she couldn't abandon her small children to transform into Sailor Jupiter.

"We'll handle it, Mako-Chan," Usagi assured her instantly. Makoto watched them run off and silently hoped that they wouldn't need her.

"What's happening, Mommy?" Akiko asked.

"Don't look at it, Akiko," Makoto told her, herding her daughter away from the scene.

"But why?" Akiko petulantly demanded.

"Don't argue!" Makoto snapped. "Just - - don't look."

The nearest secluded spot to transform was the ladies restroom. Even there, one woman peeked out of a stall upon hearing three shouted transformation phrases. She caught a quick shot of Mercury's blue skirt bow and boots slipping out of the door. The three senshi raced across the airport mall, the crowds buzzing as they parted to let the women pass. Venus was in the lead. To her right, she could see three airport security guards converging on the scene. To her left, two more guards were trying to wedge through the throng of panicky travelers. Their quarry was ahead. As she ran, Venus could hear Mercury's footfalls on her left trying to keep pace. Sailor Moon's was on the right and Usagi was already falling behind. Typically Sailor Moon was the slowest of the five, unless something was chasing her. With the scene set in her mind, Venus began calculating a plan of attack on the fly.

Cut off from escaping through the front door onto the drop-off area outside the airport, the female assassin turned on her pursuers. One of the men already had a black .40 automatic out and drawn. But before he could fire, he reeled back as if struck by something.

"She must have thrown it when she turned!" Venus judged, seeing the shuriken sticking out of the fallen bodyguard's throat. "To have aimed and hit a target in that little time - - this isn't your run of the mill killer! She's had training!"

Divested of the kimono, the woman turned and threw another shuriken at the other bodyguard. He flinched back, ducking a killing strike. But the shuriken lodged in his hand and forced him to drop his automatic. He had little time to recover. The woman was upon him in moments, delivering three vicious kicks to his mid-section, then pivoting and sending him to the floor with a spinning roundhouse kick. She knelt on the prone bodyguard and her right hand shot back behind her, preparing to deliver another blow. That's when Venus saw the knife pop out of her sleeve, delivered by an extension mechanism underneath.

"Venus Love Me Chain!" Venus called out. The chain shot out from Venus and snared the woman's arm before she could deliver the killing knife strike.

The assassin reacted immediately, sizing up Venus as she approached. The woman somersaulted forward, freeing her arm from the chain. Whirling, she kicked a potted bamboo tree decorating the lobby into the path of the two nearest security guards. Leaping up, she used an ATM machine to flip over the plant and into the midst of the three security guards.

"Look out! She's got a knife!" Venus yelled, for the bamboo tree temporarily cut her off from them.

The guards whirled on the assassin, but the knife had been replaced by a pair of nunchaku. Spinning, delivering blows with both her foot and with the nunchaku, the assassin had the guards disarmed and on the floor in seconds. She moved to flee, but Venus cut her off.

"Pretty good," Venus nodded, the air of challenge curling her mouth and making the light dance in her blue eyes. Her chain hadn't retracted and Venus held it in both hands. The assassin judged instantly that she knew what to do with it. "How about you do us both a favor and give up?"

The assassin's eyes darted to her left for an avenue of escape. In that moment, Venus swung her chain, hoping to snare the woman again. The assassin countered and batted the chain away with her nunchaku. Stepping forward, she hoped to exploit the opening Venus gave her. But Venus recovered quickly, pivoting and bringing the chain around. It slapped across the floor in front of the assassin, bringing her up short. Venus drew back the chain and began spinning the end leisurely in her right hand. The assassin countered by moving the nunchaku from hand to hand and around her torso. Each maneuver was designed to distract the attention of the opponent.

Mercury had her computer out and was analyzing the assassin. Sailor Moon finally caught up and peered at the screen.

"We've got to help Venus!" Sailor Moon proclaimed.

"Be careful, Sailor Moon," Mercury warned. "That girl has weapons secreted all over her body."

Another security guard lunged at the assassin. She moved, avoided the lunge and delivered three quick, non-lethal blows with the nunchaku that sent the guard down. Venus swung her chain again, but her quarry somersaulted over the chain and tumbled near a coffee stand. Her nunchaku came up and knocked a tray of flavoring syrups toward Venus. The senshi dodged and began whipping her chain at the feet of the assassin, driving her back. She continued to back up and Venus pressed her advantage. They reached a kiosk that sold cell phones. Suddenly grabbing a display, the assassin hurled it at Venus. Venus dodged the display, but found the assassin attacking with a leaping kick. Venus was able to avoid it, but realized she was off balance and vulnerable to an attack.

"This has gone on long enough!" Sailor Moon snapped. "Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!"

Soothing, calming silver energy radiated out from the Moon Tier, blanketing the area with its influence. Venus felt the seductive energy trying to dull her edge and blanket her passion with a serenity that was hard to resist. She glanced lazily at the assassin and, thankfully, found the woman was feeling the same effects. Venus wanted to give the woman a great big hug and figured that was Sailor Moon's doing. She fought to get control of herself and, against her now fondest wish, got her chain in position to wrap the assassin up.

But the assassin proved to be as strong as Venus was at resisting Sailor Moon's siren call. With a surge of will, she pulled a bolo from her vest and flung it. The bolo struck the Moon Tier, wrapped around it, and its momentum ripped it from Sailor Moon's hand. The silver energy died away and Venus found the assassin up on the counter of the cell phone kiosk. She brought her chain up to snare the woman, but the fleeing assassin pushed off the kiosk. This served both to push the kiosk into the path of her pursuers and let her leap up onto the second floor of the airport mall.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!" rang through the mall. The assassin just barely dodged the ice blast Mercury shot off. It froze the retaining banister on the overhead floor. The assassin pulled something from her vest and launched it at the observation window. The glass shattered and the woman leaped through the open window. Venus watched the first floor window to see where she landed.

But she didn't land.

"Venus, are you all right?" Sailor Moon asked, running up with the Moon Tier in hand. Mercury also converged.

"Yeah," Venus said, still trying to puzzle out where her quarry disappeared to. "Feels like I just filmed a Jackie Chan movie, though."

"I wonder what this was all about?" Sailor Moon wondered aloud.

"Clearly it was a coordinated assassination of that man," Mercury concluded, pointing to the dead body over in the waiting area.

"Any way we can find out who he is?" Venus asked.

They all moved to where the dead man still lay. Airport security had the area isolated with caution tape, but they allowed the senshi access. Sailor Moon instantly recoiled at the sight of the body. She listened while Venus looked and Mercury scanned the body with her computer.

"According to my scan, that kogai kanzashi penetrated the cerebellum through the eye socket," Mercury noted. "It induced motor paralysis. Basically, the man was no longer able to control his diaphragm and suffocated."

"Oh," groaned Sailor Moon.

"Hell of a way to die," Venus said. "Any idea who he is?"

"Working on that," Mercury replied. "I noticed the assassin earlier when we entered the airport. Clearly she knew her victim would be here and she was laying in wait for him, using a disguise that would both protect her identity and keep her from being suspected. Something is coming up."

Mercury read the report.

"Well?" Venus prodded.

"He's Masahiko Agami, a suspected Yakuza member," Mercury reported.

"Is there a tattoo?" Venus asked.

"My scan shows a tattoo starting at the right shoulder blade and extending down his right arm."

"He's Yakuza," nodded Venus. "So was this a hit from a rival gang? Is some foreign group trying to move into Tokyo again? Or was this revenge for something Agami did personally?"

"I'm more concerned with that poor woman," Sailor Moon said. "To be capable of doing something like this to another person - - what could have filled her with such hatred?"

"It's even more of a quandary knowing that the assassin was a fifteen year old girl," Mercury added. Both Venus and Sailor Moon looked at her with shock.

"That woman was fifteen?" Venus goggled. "No way! She's had too much training!"

"My physiological scan of her confirms it," Mercury told her. "Pelvic growth, bone density, muscle mass are all consistent with a female just a year or two out of puberty."

"She must have started training when she was five," Venus said, still amazed. "Or else, she's the quickest study the world has ever known."

"Or she's been artificially enhanced somehow," Mercury added.

"But who would do that to a child?" gasped Sailor Moon.

"It's not unheard of," Mercury told her. "After all, when did we start?"

They saw Venus nod in a direction and turned. Makoto was at the far end of the mall, waiting anxiously with Akiko and Ichiro. She had emerged from whatever safe area she'd taken her children to and was eager to link back up with her friends now that the danger had passed.

"Think it's time for a strategic exit?" Venus asked. Mercury nodded. Sailor Moon grimaced, then walked out into the center of the curious crowd that was still gathered.

"Um," she began haltingly, "I just want to say that - - well, I'm really, really sorry about this and I apologize in advance! Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!"

Again silver energy radiated out from the Moon Tier. It swept over the crowd and they were all overcome by an intense euphoria, becoming lost in the sensation of peace and contentment that blanketed them. And after everyone was so preoccupied with their euphoria that they were no longer noticed, the three senshi adjourned to a secluded area, where they transformed back into their civilian guises. Makoto and the kids quickly joined them.

"So what happened?" Makoto asked.

"Can you get Sanjuro to watch the kids tonight?" Minako asked her friend. "Because we really need to talk about this."

Continued in Chapter 4


	4. Vendetta

VIGILANTE JUSTICE

Chapter 4: "Vendetta"

A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

A Nissan compact pulled into the driveway of an apartment underground parking garage. It wasn't staying long - - just long enough to drop off a passenger. Inside the car, Mamoru Chiba turned to his wife, Usagi.

"You sure you don't need me to come up?" Mamoru asked.

"It'll be a mixture of senshi planning and girl talk," Usagi assured him. "I doubt you'll be interested. I'm sorry I can't spend more time at home with you."

"It's one of the sacrifices I make to allow the world to have Sailor Moon," he smiled.

"Actually, I was thinking about me as much as you," Usagi admitted. "I've been enjoying having you on a regular schedule. Going into private practice was the best thing you could have done - - well, short of winning the lottery, I guess."

Mamoru chuckled. "Well I'm glad you approve. It certainly hasn't been any less work. You better get home quick or I may be asleep."

"Then I'll just have to wake you up," Usagi purred amorously. Mamoru leaned over and kissed her.

"Call me when you're done. I'll come and pick you up," her husband told her. "Maybe on the way home, we'll run into a 'suitably secluded spot' and . . ."

"In this car? It's so cramped!" gasped Usagi.

"Ah, ah," Mamoru wagged his finger. "Intimate."

"Oh, you," Usagi pouted and emerged from the car. But Mamoru spotted the grin working its way onto her mouth.

"Hey, hon'," Makoto smiled when she answered the door and found Usagi waiting. "We've been waiting on you."

"Not too long, I hope," Usagi whimpered. "I just had to fix Mamo-Chan some dinner and, well, I kind of, um, scorched it. So I had to run out and . . ."

"AUNTIE USAGI!" Akiko squealed. The child roared up and hugged Usagi around the thighs. Then she looked up expectantly.

"Hi, Akiko," Usagi beamed. "Oh, you just get more precious every time I see you! And I think I've got something for you!" She began to fish into her purse.

"Usagi," Makoto sighed with frustration.

"I know, I know!" fussed Usagi. "You don't want me giving Akiko candy! Well I want to do it and Akiko wants me to do it, so we out-vote you!" And she handed the child a piece of candy.

"Incorrigible," Makoto smirked. "What do you say, Akiko?"

"I like the butterscotch ones better," Akiko protested.

"AKIKO!" Makoto snapped.

"Thank you," Akiko scowled.

"OK, you got your cut. Now scram," Makoto smirked. Usagi followed Makoto to the kitchen while Akiko sped to the sofa and bounded up next to her father.

"Hey, Usagi," Sanjuro nodded, glancing up from the TV.

"Hi, Sanjuro," Usagi answered. "Sorry about imposing like this, but with Rei headed to America . . ."

"Don't worry about it. It's almost like having my own harem," Sanjuro joked. "I hope you can all squeeze into the kitchen."

"I hope I can resist the temptation of whatever Mako-Chan has in there," Usagi quipped back.

Inside the kitchen, Usagi found Ami and Minako sitting at the table. Ami had a normal laptop computer out and was working on it. Minako had spilled some sugar onto the table and was tracing patterns in it. Instantly Makoto picked up a wet cloth and headed for the table.

"Honestly, do you ever stop cleaning?" Minako bristled as Makoto cleaned up the sugar.

"I had two kids, didn't I?" Makoto shot back. Ami struggled to keep from laughing. Putting the cloth away, she and Usagi sat down. "OK, so what do we know?"

"I downloaded my scans of the assassin and my notes on the case history into this laptop," Ami began. "Once I began assembling the pieces, I began to see a very interesting picture form."

"When do you find the time?" Minako asked.

"I just put aside the book on nuclear chemistry I was reading," Ami replied. The other three glanced at each other. "The attack on the Yakuza member is the fifth incident in the past nine weeks that I've found which fits the known specifics of the search. No one has, to my knowledge, linked these cases because the attacks themselves don't follow an obvious specific pattern other than each attack involved someone engaged in criminal activity."

"Vigilante killings?" Minako inquired.

"Yes," Ami nodded. "I seriously doubt any government agency is employing modified ninja tactics to neutralize criminals. And, though the methodology varies from case to case, my information indicates that this same fifteen year old girl is responsible for all five killings."

"Fifteen?" Makoto goggled.

"I know. Terrible, isn't it?" Usagi sympathized.

"Do we know anything about her?" Makoto asked.

"We know her face," Ami said. Minako's eyebrows shot up. Ami hit a few keys, then turned the laptop around. Her three friends crowded around and looked at the picture.

"How did you get it?" Usagi asked.

"I was able to - - surreptitiously - - download security camera footage from the airport incident. From there, it was just a matter of electronically removing the geisha makeup and adjusting the picture to fit the collated descriptions from the other incidents."

"Not bad," Minako nodded. "But she's got short hair in this picture. The girl at the airport had long hair."

"Which I believe is a wig. All five incidents have had reports of varying hair lengths and colors. I believe she uses this to keep from being positively identified. The short hair is an assumption on my part. Logically, a person trained in martial arts combat would keep her hair short so it wouldn't get in the way. And it's easier for a short-haired woman to wear a long hair wig than the reverse." She glanced at Minako with a smile. "I'm certain you can attest to that."

"Were you able to identify her?" Makoto asked.

"Unfortunately, no." Ami frowned. "This composite doesn't match any picture in Japanese police records. I couldn't find a match in any other avenue I tried, which were limited, I must confess, without a name or fingerprints to work with. The five incidents are concentrated in the east sections of Tokyo. It could be that she lives in Minato-ku or Odaiba. It's also possible that the concentration is because that's where her targets are. I've sent Artemis a copy of the picture so he can conduct his own search."

"But why do this?" Usagi spoke up. "Why kill people?"

"She's got a mad-on for criminals," Minako shrugged.

"Or people in general," Makoto added.

"No," Ami corrected her. "Minako is right. Her actions in each of the incidents demonstrate that she restricts her killing to people she's judged as criminal. Think about what happened at the airport: she only used deadly force against the Yakuza and his bodyguards. When she was confronted by airport security or Venus, she only used enough force to subdue or evade. This indicates a moral compunction against killing those she deems innocent. She certainly had opportunity to increase her body count. Yet she didn't."

"But why kill at all?" Usagi persisted.

"Revenge?" Makoto guessed.

"Or she thinks it's the only way to put a stop to crime," Minako suggested.

"She may even have a death wish," Ami posed. "She takes on a violent segment of society in a violent manner, sub-consciously hoping that she'll die in the process." Ami was silent for a few moments. "We also have to consider the possibility that she has a mentor who has subordinated her and is using her as the means to enact his or her agenda. Logic implies that a person of her young age probably could not have achieved the level of training she demonstrates by herself. It's possible she's gone rogue from her training regimen, but it's just as likely she's either a willing or innocent pawn for someone else."

"Is there any way we can find her and help her?" Usagi asked.

"I can contact Superintendent Sakurada," Minako suggested. "Exchange information."

"I'll continue to gather and extrapolate," Ami said.

"Wish Rei was here. Maybe she could 'see' something," Makoto smiled.

"Hey!" Usagi gasped. "Maybe I could visit Michiru. Her mirror might be able to help."

"Worth a shot," Minako nodded.

Just then Usagi felt a tugging at her sleeve. She looked down and found Akiko there.

"Akiko, don't pester people," Makoto fussed.

"It's all right," Usagi said. She bent over and hoisted the girl onto her lap. "We were just about done here anyway. Have you been a good girl, Akiko?" The child nodded.

"Somebody's going to get a big nose if she keeps lying like that," Makoto murmured to the others. Ami and Minako smiled.

"Can you draw me a picture like you did before?" Akiko asked. "You draw pretty."

"Sure I can," Usagi said happily.

"OK, one picture and then you've got to go to bed," Makoto told Akiko.

"But I'm not sleepy!" Akiko protested.

"We can always make it NO pictures," Makoto warned. Akiko scowled, but gave in.

* * *

SMACK!

The sound of a blow impacting on a heavy canvas punching bag echoed through the room. It was followed in rapid succession by four more blows, three blows of the hand and a kick. The girl who delivered the rapid combination of blows danced back, then charged in again. Her short black hair was matted to her head. Sweat glistened from her hard, fit young body covered only in a loose sleeveless black top and close-fitting black shorts. Six more blows rained down on the heavy bag in such rapid sequence that the sound blended together. She backed away again, searching an imaginary enemy for an opening to exploit.

"Time!" a man's voice called out and the girl stopped instantly. She gathered herself up into a rigid stance, turned to the voice and bowed. He nodded to her and the girl relaxed. Gathering up a towel, the girl wiped the perspiration from her. "You've done well to keep yourself in top condition. Your form is excellent and your blows crisp and efficient."

"Thank you," the girl said with a low, breathy voice. Her voice was low and breathy because she had just spent ninety minutes working on the heavy bag. It was a feat her supreme conditioning allowed her to accomplish. But it was as much a part of her demure nature. Her green eyes sought the floor.

"Come to me," the man said, expecting to be obeyed. He was a stout man, strong and muscular despite the fact that he was approaching fifty. His features were hard, chiseled from stone and weathered by the conflict he'd faced in his life. Thinning black hair, graying at the temples, adorned his head. His copper eyes were emotionless save for the pain that couldn't be expunged from them. The girl came over to him, but she remained silent behind her demure mask. "What is it, Hana?"

She didn't respond at first and the man patted the spot on the bench next to him. He didn't get up because it was hard for him. While his left leg was as stout and powerful as the rest of his body, his right leg was gone. An artificial limb replaced it. The limb was rail thin and made of metal, with a joint in the middle where his knee should have been and an oblong base at the bottom where his foot should have been. Dutifully Hana sat down next to the man she knew as Hideki-Papa. Only then did the blocky man soften.

"You seem troubled, Hana," he ventured. "What is it? Does the airport mission still bother you?"

Hana remained silent for a few more moments.

"It didn't go off like the others did," Hana finally said.

"It succeeded," her Hideki-Papa told her. "That's what matters."

"Too many people saw me. I was clumsy."

"It went according to the plan," Hideki reiterated. "We both knew going in that it was a risky mission. But it was necessary to acquire and terminate the target. If Agami had gotten on that plane, he would have been out of reach. We had to do it." His arm draped around young Hana. "And you pulled it off as well as could be expected. Nobody could have anticipated the Sailor Senshi showing up, but you handled it with all the professionalism and skill that I expected from you. You've trained hard and you've achieved a level of proficiency that I've never seen before. You should be proud."

Hana nodded, but she still looked down.

"Is the draw with Sailor Venus bothering you?" Hideki persisted. "Hana, she's an experienced warrior with magical gifts. You did all you could against her. A draw against her is nothing to be concerned about. You handled things as best you could and everything turned out right."

"Yes, Papa," Hana said.

"OK, this is the next target," Hideki began, bringing out a manila folder. Inside was a picture of man in his thirties. He wore sunglasses and a loud smile to match his loud suit. In the background of the picture was the inside of a nightclub. "His name is Kon Nagakawa. He runs a 'friendship' club for salarymen in the red light district."

"What has he done?" Hana asked, shunting her melancholy aside and focusing on the task at hand. The fact that he ran an obvious Yakuza front wasn't a sufficient crime to interest Hana.

"I've found evidence that the club is fronting for drugs and prostitution. Nagakawa is the man running things. He has to be taken out."

"Did you want me to plan the mission again?" Hana asked.

"Yes, Hana. You demonstrated excellent creativity and good tactical sense with your last two plans. Let's see what you can come up with. I'll review your plan, of course. But I know you can do it."

"How long do I have?"

"There's no set deadline on this one," Hideki said, "but I'd like to move within two to three weeks."

"I'll do my best," Hana replied.

"Good," Hideki nodded. He grasped his cane and pried himself off of the bench. "Go and lay down on the massage table. I'll get the oil and give you a rubdown."

"Yes, Papa," Hana said, complying immediately. But as she left, her thoughts strayed from the mission at hand back to the one she had finished. Specifically they returned to the memory of the three girls about her age that she'd seen at the airport. Hana recalled the easy comradery between the three girls, the joy they all had and the colorful clothes they wore.

And she felt the longing in her once again.

* * *

"Thanks for the ride, Ami," Usagi said, looking into the car.

"Don't give it a second thought, Usagi. You were on my way," Ami answered. "Tell Mamoru that everyone at the hospital misses him."

"I will. And call me if you get any more information on this mystery girl. I really want to find her."

"Depend upon it, Usagi," Ami told her. "I'll check with Artemis as soon as I get home."

The Toyota mid-size eased from the curb and into evening traffic. Usagi walked up to the building where she and Mamoru had an apartment. Entering the elevator to her floor, Usagi wondered again what could possibly make a fifteen year old girl into an accomplished killer. It didn't make any sense to her. Children above all others should be innocent.

But as she arrived at her floor, another thought crowded those thoughts out. Usagi recalled again the conversation she and Mamoru had a few mornings ago. Mamoru had brought up the idea of moving into a bigger, more expensive apartment. They would still be in the general area they were in now. Mamoru knew that was necessary because of his wife's second career as a savior. But there would be more room, which they could certainly use. The money was there. Mamoru had slid very easily into private practice and his income had increased. He'd managed to pay her father off for the loans they'd received earlier. He'd replaced his old car with the new Nissan compact and apparently there was still enough left over to consider a new apartment. Usagi trusted her husband when he said they could afford it. She left all the finances to him gladly.

As she walked down the hall, her hand came up and slid along the wall. They could use the extra space. And Mamoru seemed to want it. But this was the first place they'd lived together as husband and wife. And Usagi couldn't help feeling like moving would be some sort of vague betrayal of everything they meant to each other.

"You're being a silly little schoolgirl again," Usagi whispered to herself as she slid her key into the lock. The door opened into a dark apartment.

"Good evening, Usagi," Luna said, a pair of green eyes in the darkness.

Usagi flipped on the light switch, and there was Mamoru, sleeping sitting on the sofa. Luna could see the woman's heart melt.

"I put out the lights and turned off the television when he dozed off," Luna told her. "It seemed to me that he needed his rest. Now that you're home, I'll contact Artemis and get the particulars from him."

Luna padded off to the small room Usagi stored her art table in, because the cat had stashed her laptop there. Meanwhile Usagi carefully slid in next to Mamoru and cuddled up. Her lips pressed to his cheek.

"Hmm?" Mamoru mumbled. He looked around and found Usagi there. "Usako . . . I would have picked you up."

"It's OK. Ami offered to drive me. Besides, Luna said you looked like you needed your rest and I know better than to argue with Luna."

Mamoru snaked his arm around her waist. "So what was the trouble this time?"

"I'll tell you about it at breakfast tomorrow. Right now I just want to snuggle."

"You want to go to bed first?"

"This is fine," Usagi cooed.

Later that hour, Luna peeked into the room and found Mamoru and Usagi just sitting on the sofa, arm in arm and lightly dozing on each other. She stared curiously for a few moments, then turned and headed for her berth in the bedroom closet.

"Love doth make fools of us all," the cat murmured to herself with a wry smile on her face.

Continued in Chapter 5


	5. A Picture To A Name

VIGILANTE JUSTICE

Chapter 5: "A Picture To A Name"

A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

Michiru Kaioh was on her back porch with her digital camera in hand. She scanned the back yard, surveying the garden she had planted that spring. It was awash with colorful flowers, a tapestry of colors and patterns that she would capture for eternity on film.

Just as soon as she found the exact right shot. That idea had been tormenting her for twenty minutes. She'd already shot two memory cards full, but she knew instinctively that the shot wasn't on either card. Something was eluding her, some key to the composition that would unlock a picture of truly majestic power and beauty.

"Maybe it's the lighting," she murmured. "Maybe the morning light is too bright. Maybe a more muted, evening light would be better. Maybe right at sunset would capture that mood you're looking for."

Michiru scowled to herself.

"Maybe you should stop over-analyzing things and just take pictures," she told herself and brought the camera up to her eye. Then she heard the doorbell. "I'm back here!" Michiru called out, craning her neck around the side of the house she shared with Haruka. Moments later, her visitor appeared on the walk. "Usagi! This is a pleasant surprise."

"Hi, Michiru," Usagi smiled. Then she got a look at the garden. "Oh my goodness, your garden has bloomed so well!"

"It did, didn't it," Michiru nodded proudly. "Of course, all I did was a little planning. Nature did the rest."

Usagi inhaled deeply. "Oh, it smells wonderful!"

"You should have been here in spring," Michiru told her. "If you're looking for Haruka, she's not here. She's still in Magny-Cours."

"Where?"

"In France. It's where they hold the Grand Prix de France," Michiru smiled. "From there, she has to fly to Silverstone, England, for another race. THEN she'll actually get to spend a week with me."

"It must be hard," Usagi sympathized. "At least she's winning."

"Yes, Haruka rededicated herself to her racing after last season. I'm glad it's paying off for her."

"Two wins and third in the points standings," Usagi nodded. "Um, not that I'm following it THAT closely." Michiru giggled. "Actually, I came to see you."

"Oh? Social call? Art question?" Michiru asked. Then she sobered. "Or senshi business?"

"Senshi business," Usagi grimaced. Then she produced a picture. "We're trying to find this girl. I was hoping that you could use the Deep Aqua Mirror to give us a clue."

"I see," Michiru nodded. "Well, come inside and I'll change. Can I get you anything? I made sweet rolls last night."

"Ooh!" Usagi perked up. "I didn't know you baked."

"Every once in a while," Michiru said, handing Usagi a plate with some iced sweet rolls on it. "I just needed something sweet last night," and she smirked at Usagi, "and Haruka wasn't around."

While Usagi munched on her pastry, Michiru summoned her henshin stick and transformed into Sailor Neptune. She was about to summon her mirror when she noticed Usagi had finished her pastry and was too shy to ask for a drink. Motioning to the refrigerator, she summoned her mirror as Usagi helped herself.

"May I ask why you're looking for this girl?" Neptune inquired.

"We think she's been," Usagi began, then halted squeamishly, "well, killing criminals."

"Really," Neptune said, betraying no emotion. "Did you plan to stop her?"

"Well, I want to help her," Usagi said. "Someone who has been driven to this sort of extreme is crying out for help."

"Has she told you that she wants your help?" Neptune pointed out. "Perhaps she's justified in acting the way she is."

"Nobody can be justified in killing another person," Usagi maintained. Neptune smiled.

"Yes, that is the way you'd see it. Very well, let's see what I can come up with."

Neptune brought the mirror up to eye level and passed her hand across its face. Usagi noticed that Neptune went into a kind of trance. It always made her uneasy when Neptune did this. It was one more thing that Neptune could do that she couldn't. And it was one more thing in her world that she didn't understand. But Usagi put those feelings aside and concentrated on her mission. This mystery girl needed her and she would try her best to help.

"I see her," Neptune said vacantly.

"Where is she?" Usagi asked.

"It almost looks like a dojo," Neptune replied. "Mats, equipment for martial arts training - - weapons training - - stealth training. I can't get a clue where it is. There's a man with her. He's older - - around fifty. He seems very strong, but I get a sense of him being - - incomplete." Neptune continued to stare. "His leg is artificial. But that's not his only flaw. I sense - - loss. Bitterness. He controls her, as his emotions control him."

"Can you at least find her name?" Usagi prodded. "Or maybe his?"

"Hana Saito," Neptune said. She peered into the mirror for a few more moments, then lowered it. The woman expelled a fatigued breath.

"Neptune, are you all right?" Usagi asked.

"Using the mirror can be tiring," Neptune confessed. She gathered her energy and turned to Usagi. "I believe her name is Hana Saito. Given how common that name is, I don't know how much help that will be. She's connected to this other man. He gives me an impression of authority. I don't know if that's because she considers him her sensei or if he's some relative, maybe even her father. He could also be connected with the government, either now or in the past. At least part of his dwelling is a training dojo."

"You don't know its name, do you?"

"No," Neptune said absently. "But there is something else. I don't know how it connects, but I get an impression of a repeating three and - - and candy."

"Candy?" Usagi puzzled.

"I wish I could have given you more."

"It's more than I started with," Usagi shrugged. "Thank you for your help, Neptune. I'll let you get back to what you were doing."

"Let me know if you need my help again," Michiru said after allowing her senshi form to fade. "And Usagi."

"Yes?"

"Please don't be surprised or offended if this girl doesn't want your help," Michiru told her.

"Michiru, death and violence never helped anyone," Usagi replied. "She may not realize it, but the path she's on can only lead to ruin and misery, both for her and for others. I have to try to help her."

Usagi left and Michiru contemplated the woman's utopian world-view. And she couldn't convince herself that Usagi's mind-set was as naive as it was noble.

* * *

Rei Hino finally got herself and her bag through airport security. It seemed to take longer than she personally thought it should have. While the priest was smart enough to realize that these were dangerous times and airport security was a necessary evil, it would have been easier to accept if she wasn't able to read the lack of interest in doing a good job in far too many of the airport personnel. Still, she was able to congratulate herself on not letting her fiery temper escape through the exhausting ordeal. The woman dragged herself over to a seat in the concourse waiting area and flopped down, exhaling a tired breath. Rei felt drained and it wasn't just from the flight and the airport arrival procedures. A glance up at the clock told her why she felt so tired.

"Four p.m.," Rei thought. "Back in Tokyo, it's - - what, nine in the morning? No wonder it feels like I've lost half a day. I have!"

She looked around the airport. The airport itself seemed little different than Haneda, but everything else seemed so foreign. People bustled here and there. The races were so mixed here. And every sign was in English. Rei had never felt this isolated before - - not even when she was young and everyone avoided her because her second sight was beginning to bloom.

"I really should find out where Derek is staying," Rei thought. "But I'm just so tired. I suppose I should check into my hotel - - maybe get some sleep." She bit her lip. "But that'll be less time to spend with Derek."

Prying herself out of the seat, Rei began to walk along the concourse, trying to decide on a course of action. The area she walked was filled with gift shops and places to buy food and drink. But she wasn't interested in gifts right now. And none of the food places looked appealing. Then she spotted a young man behind the counter who was clearly Japanese. Thrilled to find a familiar type of face, Rei went up to the small food stand.

"[Yes, Ma'am]," the clerk said in crisp English, "[What'll you have]?"

"[Um]," Rei began, searching her tenuous grasp of the language, "[I may have something to drink]?"

"[Sure. What would you like? We've got Coke, Pepsi, Red Bull, coffee]?"

Rei grimaced. "[Do you having fruit juice]?" The clerk smiled and Rei read it was because she'd used the wrong tense. She felt herself redden.

"[Orange and apple]," the clerk said, gesturing to a cooler behind him. Rei pointed at the apple juice. After the clerk quoted a price, Rei pulled out the strange money she'd gotten in Tokyo before departing and counted out the correct amount.

"[Excuse, please]," Rei said quickly as the clerk scooped up the money. "[Do you speak Japanese]?"

He gave her a sympathetic glance. "[Sorry, ma'am. I was born in the states]."

"[Oh. Thank you]," and Rei bowed out of reflex.

The clerk smiled at her. Rei took her juice and left.

"Maybe I'll try to 'connect' with other people after I meet up with Derek," Rei thought to herself. She took a sip of the apple juice and noticed it seemed almost too sweet. "Just get a cab to your hotel and check in. You intentionally got a room in a hotel close to the ball park. Might as well take advantage of it."

In a cab headed into the city, Rei looked over San Francisco. The city had many differences to Tokyo, but big cities all seemed to have a sameness despite their differences. Rei found herself wishing she were back in Tokyo. If it wasn't for the prospect of surprising Derek, she'd turn around right now and go home. Clearly her decision not to go with him to America was the right one.

"[Here you are]," the cab driver said, pulling up to the drop off point of her hotel. "[That'll be forty bucks]."

Rei glanced at the meter, but couldn't see it. Then she glanced at the driver when he turned to her to get his fare. His face held her. She stared.

"[You are lying]," Rei stated.

"[What]?" the driver replied to the unexpected response.

"[You doubled the fare]," Rei bristled, her violet eyes holding the driver like a cobra's would. "[You are intentionally cheating me]."

"[I don't know what you're talking about, lady]," the driver said. But Rei could see deeper than his words and the driver anxiously sensed it.

"[You do know what I am talking about]," Rei glared. "[Your anxiety betrays you]." She handed the driver a twenty and didn't wait to see if there was any change. Disgusted, she pushed out of the cab.

"[What, no tip]?" the driver called after her. Rei whirled and glared at him again.

And if she had been in her Sailor Mars identity, the cab would have been ashes.

Fortunately the hotel staff was much more understanding and helpful. Rei got up to her room and closed the door behind her. The bed was instantly inviting and, after setting her travel bag on the floor, she reclined on it to try it out. It and the room itself was much more luxurious than the spartan furnishings of her bedroom at the shrine and Rei giggled with delight.

"Oh, Grandpa, if you could see me now," Rei murmured. She closed her eyes - - just for a moment.

* * *

"Yes, Artemis, I'm linked with you," Luna said over her communications microphone as she looked at the screen of her laptop. The communications link resembled a wireless communications set modified for a feline head. Of course, the Crystal Kingdom had such technology two millennia prior to the invention of the Bluetooth.

Usagi sat on the sofa and watched. Luna sat on the coffee table with the laptop. Naturally Usagi didn't have the first clue what the laptop was displaying, but she was confident that Luna would explain it.

"Knowing Luna, she'll go out of her way to explain it," Usagi smirked to herself.

"Hold on, Artemis. I'll place you on speaker," Luna said into her com-link.

"Usagi?" they heard Artemis's voice on the laptop's speaker. "Is that all the information Michiru could come up with?"

"Yes, Artemis. Can't you find a listing for Hana Saito?" Usagi asked.

"I've got thirty-three listings for a Hana Saito," Artemis replied.

"THIRTY-THREE!" Usagi gasped.

"And that's just in Tokyo metro," Artemis added. "And that's from combining phone listings, census and police statistical records."

"I guess I better get started. Can you print the list for me?"

"Why . . .?" Artemis began.

"I'll handle it, Artemis," Luna cut him off. "And what were you planning to do: Go door to door and ask for the 'family assassin'?"

"Well how would you do it?" Usagi bristled.

"Well, first I'd pare the list down by eliminating unlikely suspects based on age or distance of residence from the attacks," Artemis began.

"Which you don't even have to do, Artemis," Luna added. "It's quite unlikely our suspect is listed in the census or phone directory, being fifteen."

"Oh," Usagi squeaked, crestfallen. Then she perked up. "Well, maybe one of the locations is in her father's name!"

"Assuming the older gentleman is her father and not a guardian or mentor," Luna pointed out. "Still, it is an avenue of inquiry. Once the list is narrowed down, we can begin looking into it."

"I can pull the enrollment records from the public and private schools," Artemis offered. "But how likely is it that she's enrolled in school?"

"Not likely, but do it to be thorough," Luna told him.

"Could you print that list out anyway?" Usagi asked.

"Whatever for?" Luna retorted.

"I want to help," Usagi whined. "And we all know I'm no good with that computer stuff. Print off the list and I'll cut it down. That'll leave you and Artemis to check other things."

"And your art deadlines?" Luna asked her pointedly.

"I just have one more page to ink and it's not due until next Monday!" Usagi spat. "And if you don't give me that printout, I'm just going to sit here and watch cartoons all day!" And she punctuated the declaration with her tongue.

"At least you'll be doing SOMETHING constructive," Luna sneered. The printer next to the household computer fired up and printed the list. Usagi snatched it up, pulled the street atlas from the bookcase and sat down to work.

* * *

Hana went out the door and locked it behind her. The list was in her pocket and her purse danged from her shoulder by its strap. Hideki-Otosan's warning still rang in her ears, warning her to be careful. She understood that he was her guardian and her mentor and that he knew best, but she WAS fifteen and he didn't need to warn her about appearing in public.

She'd taken the usual steps to keep from being identified, assuming one of the eight looks she'd crafted for herself. This time she wore her gothic look. Hana wore her long, straight-hair black wig and heavy eyeliner with blood red lipstick and a painted cross under her right eye. A choker was around her throat and she wore a black frilly dress with spaghetti straps and a plunging bodice that fit tight to her torso and frilled out from the waist. Black stockings and Doc Marten boots completed the look along with tons of silver jewelry over the black lace opera gloves on her arms. The bracelets jangled on her arms as she walked. It was a look that would clearly be noticed by many of her more conformist countrymen and women, but one that would not be associated with a trained assassin. "Hide in plain sight" was the motto of this disguise.

Besides, she was just going to the store for food Hideki-Otosan needed to fix dinner.

"I'm beginning to wonder if the best way to attack the next target is as a sniper," Hana thought to herself as she ambled down the steps to the front gate. "It would certainly be the easiest way, particularly if I can find a pattern to his lifestyle. I wish I was confident enough in handling a rifle and scope, though. I'm not sure I have enough practice time. And I can't depend on a bow to be as accurate as a rifle."

She sighed and blew at the bangs of her wig.

"Maybe I just better find a way to get close enough to use a knife or small arms fire," Hana grimaced.

The girl closed the gate behind her and headed from 3-33-3 Higashi Kanda, Chiyoda-ku, to the market four blocks away.

Continued in Chapter 6


	6. The Unexpected

VIGILANTE JUSTICE

Chapter 6: "The Unexpected"

A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

Rei woke with a start and looked at the clock radio on the night stand beside her hotel room bed.

"It's almost eleven!" she gasped. A glance at the window confirmed that it was night. "Derek's game was supposed to start at seven!"

Without a second thought, Rei bounded out the door and down to the lobby. Taking only a moment to get her bearings, the priest found the looming silhouette of AT & T Field and headed for it. Her experience at the Tokyo Dome waiting for Derek served her well. She was able to obseerve the game was already over and avoided the customer gates, heading for what she assumed was the player's gate.

The wait outside the player's gate was a lot like the waits outside the Tokyo Dome. There were fans waiting for the hometown Giants, a few girlfriends or hangers-on, and a couple of tenacious autograph seekers. Farther off in the lot was the team bus for the San Diego Padres, Derek's team. After a wait of nearly thirty minutes, a line of about fifteen people came out and headed for the bus. Rei immediately moved in. However, she couldn't see Derek.

"[Excuse, please]," Rei said, approaching two husky men who had to be players. They each turned to her. The black player and the latino both clearly were pleased by Rei's appearance, but Rei could read intentions in the latino that she didn't want to think too much about. "[I am looking for Derek Johnson]."

"[Derek's not here, chica]," the latino player smiled. "[Will I do]?"

"[I thought you were going out with that number over by the wharf]," the black player asked him.

"[The more, the merrier]!" the latino laughed.

"[No, I must finding Derek Johnson]," Rei insisted, trying to control her annoyance.

"[I don't see him, Miss]," the black player told her.

"[I think he was one of the ones who left early]," the latino told his teammate.

"[Suppose he's back at the hotel]?" the black player asked him. The latino shrugged.

"[What hotel, please]?" Rei asked.

"[I'm sorry. We're not supposed to give that information out. If you need to talk to him, call someone at the Padres and they'll relay the message]."

Rei nodded and the players headed for the bus. It wasn't necessary to question them further. When she'd asked the player for the hotel, Rei was then able to read the hotel name, even though he hadn't spoken it. Perhaps if his guard had been up, she might not have "seen" it.

"But what gaijin would suspect I might have the sight?" Rei chortled happily to herself. She headed for the street to find a cab.

* * *

Ami sat in the kitchen of the apartment of Toshihiro Manabe and his wife of six months, the woman known to Japan as Minako Aino. She was huddled with Artemis, comparing notes with the cat on the case the Sailor Senshi were currently working on. Minako would drift in and out, ostensibly to get a juice or a cookie. At the moment, Toshihiro was working late at the studio on a new television series he was directing.

"You'll get fat off of those," Artemis commented dryly when Minako drifted in again.

"It's only one!" Minako bristled, a bite of cookie in her mouth.

"It's your fourth trip for a cookie and your second one for a juice," Artemis said acidly.

"You counted? Gods, Fuzzy, anal much?"

"If you want a progress report, Minako, all you have to do is ask," Ami commented.

"I trust you two. You'll tell me something when you get something," Minako told her. Then she craned her neck. "So, get anything?"

"Don't you have lines to memorize?" Artemis asked. "After all, taping starts next week."

"I'M JUST CURIOUS, OK?" Minako fussed.

"She wants another crack at that assassin," Artemis said to Ami. "She can't stand the fact that their last battle was a draw."

"Yes, I surmised that," Ami agreed.

"STOP TALKING LIKE I'M NOT IN THE ROOM!" Minako bellowed.

"We're having little success tracking the girl on what little information we have," Ami summarized. "The list of people named Hana Saito that Usagi had Artemis compile was no help at all."

"Except that it told us where not to look," Artemis added. "I still think we should look closer at Chiyoda-ku."

"Logically, that district offers little more hope of success than any of the other districts," Ami argued.

"What's in Chiyoda-ku?" Minako asked.

"A higher concentration of weapons shipments than some other districts," Artemis replied.

"A slightly higher concentration," Ami corrected him.

"Well it fits," Artemis countered. "This girl has used some pretty exotic stuff and she's got to be getting it somewhere."

"Agreed, but it isn't conclusive," Ami told him. "If we concentrate our efforts on that area based on an incorrect assumption, we risk missing signs that will point in the correct direction."

"I could nose around Chiyoda-ku and see if I find anything suspicious," Minako offered.

"Yes, I'm sure the famous Minako Aino could wander through a residential district surreptitiously," Artemis replied. The door bell rang.

"I've got my wig and dark glasses," Minako bristled.

"Answer the door," Artemis responded. Minako stuck out her tongue and went to the door.

"Hi, Minako," Ryoko smiled. Minako reacted with surprise. "OK if I come in?"

"Uh, sure," Minako replied. Hurriedly Artemis leaped to the floor while Ami closed both laptops. "Hey, Ami. Ryoko's here."

"Hello, Ryoko," Ami called out. "This is a pleasant surprise."

"Hi, Ami. Didn't expect you here," Ryoko smiled.

"I was just," Ami began, trying hard not to show agitation, "visiting."

"Oh, OK. Hey, nice laptop! Looks state of the art!"

"It is," Ami nodded.

"You take it everywhere?" Ryoko asked.

"No! I," Ami began.

"She was showing it to me," Minako said too quickly.

"I thought you wanted a desktop," Ryoko asked.

"Well," Minako began, "I wanted to cover all the bases."

"So who's laptop is that?" she asked, nodding to the one Artemis had been using.

"That?" Minako asked. "That. That's, um, Toshi's! He brings it home from the studio and puts his stage directions and junk on it. Guess he forgot it." Minako seemed to think for a second. "Maybe I should look through it to make sure he doesn't have any porn stashed on it, huh? Ha ha."

Ami felt herself becoming quite uncomfortable.

"Yeah," Ryoko said and the others instantly sensed that she noticed their anxiety. "How about I hit the road, huh?"

"Please don't feel you have to go so soon," Ami ventured.

"No, I'm - - interrupting something," Ryoko said. "I just stopped by to say 'hi' anyway. See you folks around, OK?"

And Ryoko disappeared out the door. Ami and Minako exchanged guilty looks.

"Well that could have gone better," Ami grimaced.

"Boy, this secret identity stuff never gets easy, does it?" Minako mused. "Maybe we should just tell her."

"Minako, we don't know her THAT well," Artemis cautioned.

"Maybe you don't," Minako muttered, recalling Ryoko's alternate reality history as Sailor Venus.

* * *

In the lobby of Derek Johnson's hotel, Rei Hino crossed from the entrance to the desk with some trepidation. She knew which hotel Derek was staying in, but she didn't know the room. So she had to once again depend upon her second sight to find out.

"All you had to do was write him and let him know you were coming," Rei chided herself mercilessly, for she was often her own worst critic. "But no, you had to 'surprise' him. Honestly, that's the sort of school girl mentality I'd expect from Usagi. What is it about being in love that makes a person act so silly?"

And devious, Rei noted. As she approached the desk, she had an envelope in her hand. Her ploy was to hand the envelope to the desk clerk and tell her that it was a message for Derek Johnson. When she took it to put in his mail box, his room number would flash in the clerk's mind and Rei would be able to read it.

She hoped. If this didn't work, she might have to go door to door and knock. Or attend the game tomorrow and hook up with him on the field.

"No way I can wait THAT long," Rei thought as she came to the desk.

"[Yes, ma'am, how may I assist you]?" the clerk asked. She was a pleasant black woman in her early twenties. Her manner was courteous, but Rei could read that it was affected at the request of her employers, whom she didn't think treated her fairly.

"[Please to give this message to Derek Johnson]," Rei replied, hoping she said it right. She handed the envelope to the clerk.

The clerk took it and then looked down at her computer screen. Rei felt panic rising in her. She couldn't read the room number. The woman was suddenly a blank to her. What was she going to do now?

"[Derek Johnson]," the clerk murmured to herself. And suddenly the room number was there, bright and bold in her mind.

"Of course, stupid," Rei silently flogged herself. "The clerk isn't going to automatically know Derek's room number off the top of her head. There are probably a couple of hundred rooms in this hotel! She had to look it up!"

"[I'll see that he gets this, Ma'am]," the clerk said. Rei didn't react, still focused on mentally flaying herself. "[Was there anything else]?"

"No!" Rei gasped in Japanese, then caught herself. "[No. Thank you]." Again she bowed out of reflex, then headed for the elevators.

"Well that wasn't TOO suspicious," Rei nagged herself, expecting to be stopped by security at any moment. But there were very few people in the lobby at 11:22 pm and the people that were there treated her like one more innocent tourist. She made the elevator without incident and pressed the button for the floor Derek's room was on.

Coming out, Rei felt a little nervous, so much so that she hardly noticed the decor of the hall. But what she felt more of was anticipation. It had been nine months since she'd seen Derek. They had corresponded avidly since last October, but letters weren't enough anymore. Letters didn't let her see him. Letters didn't let her touch him. Letters didn't let her feel his touch. She wanted that. She needed that. Suddenly three days and what was left of this one didn't seem enough. If she didn't have to get back to Japan for Bon - - and the fact that the Padres series in San Francisco ended July 7 - - she might be tempted to stay the month, and hang her visa expiring.

Rei came up to the door of Derek's hotel room and knocked. She waited. No answer.

"I hope he's not out," Rei thought anxiously. "I'll look pretty silly standing in this hall for hours on end waiting for him."

She knocked again. This time she heard footsteps headed for the door. Her heart thrilled in anticipation.

"[Yeah, who . . .]" Derek began as he opened the door. He was clothed only in a white robe provided by the hotel and he looked magnificent. "R-Rei?"

"[Surprise, Derek]!" Rei squealed. "[I just couldn't go any longer without . . .]!"

Then her emotions shifted as her ability to read other people, the ability that was her blessing and her curse, kicked into gear. Derek watched Rei's face betray her mood, shifting in rapid succession to surprise.

And then confusion.

And then shock.

And then anger.

"How could you?" Rei asked, staring, her voice robbed of any timber by the body blow she'd just experienced. "How could you?" she bellowed, English forgotten. Her feelings could only be expressed now in the more comfortable Japanese.

"Rei," Derek began.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME?" Rei roared. Tears were streaming down her face and the beautiful features were twisted in rage. And finally, when her feelings of humiliation overwhelmed the churning rage she felt, Rei turned and stormed down the hall for the elevators.

"Rei, wait!" Derek called after her.

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!" Rei shrieked. "GO TELL IT TO YOUR LITTLE BIMBO!"

And for once the gods smiled on her. The elevator car door opened immediately and Rei was able to get in before Derek reached her. Her last glimpse of him was the car door closing on his stricken face.

In anger and frustration, Derek slammed his fist against the wall. With a futile sigh, he turned and headed back to his hotel room. A comely black woman in her late twenties, also in nothing save a robe, was waiting for him.

"Baby, what is it? Who was that?" the woman, her name Vontressa, asked. Derek frowned.

"Nobody you know," he replied gruffly and headed for the mini-refrigerator in the room. Suddenly he needed a drink.

* * *

In the district known as Chiyoda-ku, Usagi leisurely walked down the street headed from one of the apartment buildings that dotted the area. Chiyoda-ku was a residential district, with newer apartment complexes springing up around some of the older, more traditional homes. An art valise was tucked under Usagi's arm as she again allowed her eye to wander around the district. Usagi had never been in this district before. She was only here now because the artist she employed to letter her story pages lived here and he couldn't deliver the pages because he was in bed with sinus migraines. So she was naturally curious about the new neighborhood and what sort of people lived here. But there was another reason why she was looking.

"This isn't bad," she noted. "Some of these apartment buildings look really nice from the outside. Mamo-Chan wants to move. I wonder if he's looked at any of these."

Her curiosity dimmed a little with her mood.

"But this is so far from everything," Usagi thought. "I really like living in Azabu-Juuban. And if we have to move, I'd really prefer we move into a house and not an apartment. A house is the best place to raise a family." The woman grew melancholy. "Assuming Mamo-Chan and I will ever have a family - - sooner than Crystal Tokyo, anyway." She continued to walk toward the train station. "Kousagi would have been five years old this year."

Feeling her eyes misting, Usagi turned and looked at the houses as she passed them. They were nice, comfortable-looking dwellings. Just the sort of love nest she'd always dreamed of having as a girl, with her curled up inside with her handsome husband and two point five kids. That made her recall the times when she was a girl, trading dreams and ambitions with Naru.

And that made her recall Naru's impending divorce.

"Why doesn't life work out the way people hope?" Usagi scowled.

She glanced up at the street sign to make sure she was headed the right direction. With her sense of direction, being in a strange neighborhood was a disaster waiting to happen. The sign said Higashi-Kanda.

Something in her brain clicked. And Usagi stopped.

"Higashi*(*a Japanese word that can translate to "candy" or "cookie")," Usagi whispered. Remembering what Michiru had told her, the woman looked around. She spotted the house numbers. "I wonder . . ."

Racing down the street, Usagi followed the house numbers. Then, suddenly, she stopped in front of one house. It was older, but quiet and unassuming. Just another house in a block of houses squeezed together as was the Japanese way from necessity. But the house number . . .

"3-33-3 Higashi-Kanda," Usagi repeated to herself, unable to convince herself that it could be that easy. "She said it was a series of threes and candy. Maybe it was an address!"

The smart thing would have been to call Ami or Minako, Luna or Artemis or anybody. The smart thing would have been to check it out in force, for this fifteen year old girl they were looking for had fended them all off at Hineda Airport, along with airport security and two Yakuza bodyguards, with ease.

Usagi's finger pushed the door bell, for rarely in her life had the smart thing ever occurred to her.

Continued in Chapter 7


	7. Alone

VIGILANTE JUSTICE

Chapter 7: "Alone"

A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

Usagi rang the bell, then stood at the door of 3-33-3 Higashi-Kanda. And then, and only then, did she realize she had absolutely no idea what she was going to say to whomever answered the door. She wondered if she should make up some story, but quickly realized she wasn't mentally nimble enough to do that. She then wondered if she should just leave before anyone came. But then she heard footfalls behind the door and knew it was too late.

"Yes?" a man answered. He was a few inches taller than she was, meaning he was shorter than most men. But he was thick and sturdy like a wall, with bands of muscles on his arms and a barrel chest. His head sat like a bowling ball atop his shoulders and his features were hard and rough, denoting years of battle. The door hid part of him and Usagi wondered if the hidden part was a prosthetic leg. She remembered the description Michiru gave her from her vision.

"Um," Usagi began. Her throat was suddenly very dry. "I, um, I'm looking - - for someone. M-Maybe you know her? Hana Saito?"

"I don't know anyone by that name," the man replied. He was frank and forthright, with no hesitation or stammer. His tone was even. And yet Usagi seemed to think his eyes flashed angrily at her for a few moments.

"Have you lived here long?" Usagi persisted. "Maybe she used to live here."

"I've lived here for twenty years. I don't know anybody by that name," he replied stonily.

"Oh," Usagi squeaked, unsure of how to proceed. An instinct told her to withdraw - - quickly. "Maybe I'm mistaken. I guess I could have gotten the wrong address. I've never been too good with numbers, you know?" and she grinned ruefully at him. It seemed to put the man at ease.

Then she saw a girl in the back of the room cross from one door to another. It was Hana Saito. It was unmistakable. Her hair was short, but it was Hana Saito, just like the picture Ami had shown her. Resisting the urge to barge in, Usagi turned to leave.

But the man at the door had noticed the recognition in Usagi's eyes. When he glanced behind him and noticed Hana, he knew everything that had happened. His hand shot out and clamped over Usagi's mouth. Powerful muscles pulled the startled woman over the threshold and into the home. Usagi's art portfolio fell to the cement on the front step as the door closed quickly.

Moments later, a fifteen year old girl's hand reached out from a door barely opened. It picked up the art portfolio and slid it inside.

* * *

"[Yes, ma'am, this ticket is for Tokyo via Honolulu]," the ticket agent at the airport told Rei. She could see the woman's eyes were red, possibly from crying, and her heart went out to this poor woman in a foreign country for whatever unknown misfortune she had suffered. But Rei's lack of English skills - - and her own lack of Japanese skills - - were hampering her efforts to help. Impatient travelers waited behind Rei in line and shot daggers at her with their eyes.

"[No]," Rei struggled, struggled to make her understand and struggled to keep her temper at bay. She wasn't feeling very charitable at the moment - - not after last night. "[I want to going to Tokyo. I want to going]," and Rei searched for the right word. "[Now. This day. Going this day, not the seventh]."

"[Oh, you want to exchange these for a flight TODAY]," the ticket agent said, hoping she'd interpreted the broken English correctly. Rei nodded vigorously and the agent set to typing on her computer. "[Well]," she began, scanning her screen, "[I have a flight to Honolulu in three hours - - but it has a four hour layover before your connecting flight to Tokyo leaves]."

"[Yes]," Rei nodded intently. She'd cried herself to sleep the night before or she would have been at the airport last night. She'd worry about the layover later. Right now she just wanted to get out of this city, this country, this hemisphere and back to her safe little life in Hikawa Shrine.

So she could nurse her broken heart in peace. Rei took her new boarding pass and headed into the airport concourse. With three hours to kill and no desire to wander the city, Rei walked over to the food stand she'd visited when she arrived. The same young clerk was working the counter.

"[Apple juice, please]," she requested.

"[Yes, ma'am]," he nodded. But when he returned to the counter with a bottle of apple juice, his face lit up with recognition. "[Hey! Back so soon]?"

Then he noticed her red-rimmed eyes and crestfallen demeanor.

"[Hey, are you all right]?" he asked, concerned.

"[My drink, please]," Rei replied, tight-lipped. She knew, somewhere under all the hurt, that he was just trying to be nice. But dealing with him meant dealing with feelings that she just wanted to smother until they died. Stonily she handed him the money, took the bottle and left. If he was put off by her gruff manner - - well, it just had to be.

Minutes passed like anvils as she sat in the airport and nursed her juice. As she waited, she began to feel hungry. In her desolation, Rei had skipped breakfast in order to get to the airport as fast as possible. Now she was feeling it. But the priest figured there was no place in the airport that served a good plate of rice and steamed vegetables, and the thought of trying to eat American fast food made her sick. Usagi and Minako might be able to eat anything, but not her. So she sat and felt the time pass and felt more hungry - - and more alone.

"I thought I'd find you here," said the voice from off to her right. She knew who it was from the voice, but Rei turned and looked anyway. It was Derek. Her eyes flared angrily.

"Go away," Rei hissed, turning away from him. Instead Derek sat down, leaving a seat between them.

"Rei, would you just listen?" he asked, speaking Japanese to make it easier for them.

"Why would you do that to me?" Rei snarled. "I thought you felt something for me."

"I do."

"Then WHY," Rei said, pausing for emphasis. People turned and looked at her. "Would you do that to me?"

Derek sighed. "To understand why," he began, looking down, "you have to understand what it's like living out of a hotel from March to October; what the life of the vagabond athlete is like, going from city to city, park to park, never having a home - - and family. Your teammates are your family, and it's not the same kind of intimacy. In this game, you spend eight hours sleeping, about eight hours at the park, and the other eight hours trying not to go nuts from the boredom and isolation. Video games get old. You can only read so many books. And TV during the day is for kids and housewives. The down time can make you crazy - - and really lonely. Most guys drink themselves out of it, or pop drugs or screw around. What I'm saying is the road can really wear you down - - make you weak. Even the best of us."

"How many others were there?" Rei asked bitterly.

"Nobody after I met you," Derek replied. Rei looked down. "Rei, I'm telling you the truth. I'm not your father. I didn't set out to betray you. I just - - they're in every city, Rei. Every town you play in. Women who throw themselves at ballplayers because they want to say they slept with someone famous. Or some of them try to get pregnant so they can get child support from the 'rich ballplayer' - - maybe even parlay it into a marriage and a secure income, if they're lucky. And they're out there, and they're so soft and pretty." Derek rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "And she caught me in a weak moment. I was lonely - - and she was fine - - and I figured you'd never find out."

"I would have found out," Rei said, hoarse with emotion, "the first time I looked into your eyes."

"Yeah. You probably would have." He paused for a moment to search his soul. "We all do things we wish we could take back. I would take it back if I could. Please believe me. You are special to me, Rei Hino. I know what happened in your past, and I know you don't want to forgive this, but you'll only hurt us both if you don't. Think about this, Rei. Please don't let the hurt link up with all the other hurts you've suffered through your life and rule your emotions."

Rei looked at him, looked past the anger and the pain she felt and tried to read him. It seemed like he was telling the truth. And looking into his face brought back the memories of his kiss, his touch, his caring soul, all the things about him that she loved. Tears welled up in her eyes again and she looked down to conceal the fact. Her hands clutched.

"I believe you, Derek," she said, not looking at him. "I believe you made an honest mistake and surrendered to the weaknesses we all surrender to when - - temptation gets the better of judgment. I believe you. But it's not that simple. I-I can't trust you now. And I can't love someone whom I can't trust."

"That's pretty stubborn, Rei," Derek said.

"It's who I am," Rei contended. "You know that."

"Rei, don't throw away what we have!" Derek pleaded. "It may never come along again!"

"Maybe not. But I have other things in life that I can devote myself to besides being in love," Rei said firmly. "And I won't permit a person to betray me a second time. I won't permit it."

"I won't betray you!" Derek affirmed.

"You'll try," Rei replied. "But the cloud of suspicion will always be hanging over us. And there's nothing you can do to dissipate it, Derek. Nothing."

Derek sighed in frustration and got up. "I'm sorry, Rei. I'm sorry I hurt you. That's all I can do. You want guarantees and then you won't believe me when I give them to you. Maybe that is my fault. All I can be is sorry." He turned to leave. "You know where to find me if you change your mind. And if you don't - - maybe someday I'll come back to Japan and show up at your shrine. And when we see each other again - - maybe what happened last night won't matter so much. Be well, Rei."

And, defeated and bowed, Derek turned and walked away. Rei didn't watch him go, for fear that she would weaken and chase after him.

* * *

Medical technician Mai Nakahara came out of the patient examination room she had been working in. Her face was a picture of perplexed curiosity. When nothing readily explained the situation, she walked up to Misato Awaza, the receptionist at the private practice they both worked at.

"What was that noise?"Yui asked.

"Dr. Chiba," Misato responded. "He came barreling out of the second exam room like a demon was chasing him. He stopped by my desk long enough to tell me to reschedule the rest of his day and then he was out the door. Lucky we're close to the end of the day and I've only got to reschedule two appointments."

"What happened?" Yui continued.

"I think he said something about his wife," Misato told her. "I hope nothing's happened."

* * *

"Ow," Usagi whimpered softly. The unforgiving rope closed around her, pinching her arms to the back of the chair. The man tying her, the same man who had dragged her into the house at 3-33-3 Higashi-Kanda and down into the basement, pulled the rope taut and knotted it off.

"You'd better tell me what I want to know," he growled gruffly at her, kneeling down to bind her ankles to the chair legs, "or it'll hurt a lot worse."

Usagi looked around the room. It was the basement of the house, but it had been converted into a training room. Paneling lined the room and acoustic tiles covered the ceiling. The majority of the room and some of the walls were padded with athletic mats. Aside from the chair she was in and a bench, the only furnishings were various caddies. One held weights for strength training. Another held staffs, long-handled blades and nunchaku. There was a panel on the wall with a collection of knives and swords mounted on the panel. Another panel held mounted guns, from various pistols to a rifle and scope. There was a box on the floor and Usagi could see inside were razor-pointed shuriken. One corner had a heavy bag dangling from the ceiling, much like boxers used. Another had a lacquered wooden post with protruding cylindrical wooden limbs, like she'd seen Makoto use once in one of her martial arts workouts. Off to the side was a small room, no more than an alcove, that held a massage table and a cabinet of liniments and first aid supplies.

And over by the door leading to the enclosed staircase to the first floor was Hana Saito. The girl stood placidly while the older man finished binding Usagi to the chair. She was no more than fifteen and dressed like a fifteen year old would, casually in jeans, a knit blouse and floppy athletic shoes with no socks. Usagi looked at the girl. The events seemed to bother her some. She seemed to grow more sympathetic every time Usagi would grunt or moan at a rope pulled tight. Usagi silently appealed to the girl for assistance. However, Hana only looked away.

"Now," Hideki said, pushing up on the bench and Usagi's knee to gain his feet again, "why were you asking about Hana?"

"She was," Usagi began, her heart racing. Lying never came easily to her. There was too much to concoct, too much to remember. "She was - - a friend of mine," Usagi said finally, "from art school."

"Hana's never been to art school," Hideki countered stonily.

"Not her," Usagi said quickly. "The Hana I was looking for. She's thirty with long black hair and-and glasses."

"Why were you looking for her?" Hideki asked, picking up Usagi's purse as he did.

"Well, I just wanted to catch up with her again," Usagi began hopefully. Maybe he was buying it. "I haven't seen her in a while. And maybe I could get her to help me with my deadlines. I'm terrible with deadlines. I'm a manga artist, you see, and . . ."

"Usagi Chiba," Hideki read from the ID card he fished out of Usagi's purse.

"Hey, that's my purse!" Usagi protested. One dire look from Hideki quelled her protests, though.

"This address is over in Azabu-Juuban," Hideki noted. "What are you doing in Chiyoda-ku?"

"I was picking up those pages," Usagi said, nodding to the portfolio. "I hired an artist to do the calligraphy. He lives over here."

Hideki glanced into the portfolio. Hana seemed to want to believe her, it seemed to Usagi. Again she silently appealed to the girl, but Hana looked away again.

"Please let me go!" Usagi pleaded. "I don't know what's going on here, but it's all a big misunderstanding! Please, I won't say anything!"

"You're not going anywhere until I find out why you were looking for Hana," Hideki told her flatly.

"I already told you!"

"And I know you're lying," Hideki replied.

Damn. Usagi wished she knew how Minako could do it so flawlessly.

"I can tell you're lying," Hideki continued, glaring menacingly at her. "There never was a friend of yours from art school. I can tell that much. The rest I can check very easily - - along with whether you or any of your friends or relatives are police."

Palming the ID, Hideki grasped his cane and hobbled to the staircase. Hana stood up straight as he approached.

"Watch her," Hideki told Hana. "The walls are soundproofed, so there's no worry about anyone hearing her. Just be wary of anything she says."

"Yes," Hana nodded. As Hideki hobbled upstairs, Hana crossed over to the bench and sat down near Usagi.

Anxiously Usagi's wrists squirmed in the grip of the ropes pinning them behind the chair back. But as she squirmed, Usagi's hand brushed against her senshi communicator on her wrist. Suddenly realizing she had a means of alerting the others, Usagi fumbled around until she felt a stud on the communicator. Praying it was the alert signal, she pushed the button.

* * *

So far it was a typical evening at Aiiku Hospital. Ami Mizuno made her rounds of the patients assigned to her. They were pretty routine cases: Three elderly patients with a variety of age-related ailments, a skateboarder who fractured his pelvis attempting a stunt on a staircase, an auto accident victim with shoulder and rib damage, and a little girl with an allergic reaction that Ami was still trying to puzzle out. She had just come from lecturing the skateboarder on trying to get up out of bed against orders and was headed for the elderly man with the urinary infection.

Then she felt the senshi communicator on her wrist vibrate. To anyone else, it looked like an ordinary watch. Ami had modified them, with the help of Artemis, to conceal their true purpose. Stopping in the hall, Ami brought the device up to eye level. There was a flashing red light in the lower left corner of the watch face - - the emergency alert. This was going to be tricky. Leaving in the middle of her shift was not something that was favorably looked upon by the hospital administration. But the activation of another button on the device told her Usagi had put out the call. Ami knew she couldn't ignore a senshi emergency call, particularly one from Usagi.

"Excuse me," Ami exclaimed, bursting into the office of the Resident Administrator, Dr. Akira Kuroda. "Please forgive the interruption, Dr. Kuroda, but an emergency has suddenly come up and I must leave immediately!"

"What type of emergency?" he asked.

"I apologize, Sir, but," Ami offered, "it's very personal. But I assure you that it's quite urgent!"

Kuroda, a dour man with thinning hair, a lined face and a thin build, expelled a sigh. As he considered her request, Ami mulled over the consequences she might face for leaving work without permission.

"Well, Mizuno, given your record of both punctuality and excellence since you've come here, I guess you've earned some consideration. I'll get some of the other residents to handle your case load until you can return. Any idea how long it will be?"

"No, Sir. I'm sorry, Sir," Ami said, the need to leave urgent in her. Kuroda noticed this and waved her off.

In the elevator headed for the underground parking garage, Ami pulled out her senshi communicator again and signaled Luna. When the connection was made, she found Makoto was already on the line.

"I'm on my way! What's happened?" Ami asked.

"I haven't the faintest idea, Ami!" Luna replied. "According to the communicator, Usagi is in Chiyoda-ku! She was picking up some art!"

"Minako is already en route, Ames," Makoto added. Ami could see she was in her car. "I'm driving over to drop Akiko and Ichiro off with Luna, then I'm headed over there!"

"Haven't you been able to establish contact with Usagi at all?" Ami asked as she raced out of the elevator to her car.

"No, Ami, and goodness knows I've tried!" Luna told her. "Either she won't answer - - or she can't!"

A cold dread washed through Ami's chest as she entered her car.

Continued in Chapter 8


	8. Under The Gun

VIGILANTE JUSTICE

Chapter 8: "Under The Gun"

A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

Usagi sat uncomfortably in the chair she was bound to and peeked over at the teen girl sitting on the bench next to her. She wondered if she should try to speak. The girl looked normal and innocent enough. But this girl was also the one everyone suspected of killing a string of criminals over the last few months. Usagi had even seen her handiwork at Haneda Airport just two days ago.

"Um," Usagi began tentatively. "Y-You are Hana Saito, aren't you?"

The girl refused to answer, but Usagi could see in her eyes that the statement was true.

"Pardon me for being nosy," Usagi began anxiously, momentarily looking away before glancing back at Hana, "but - - well, can I ask you something?"

"If you have to," Hana replied warily.

"Why do you do it?"

Hana looked down.

"Why do you kill people?" Usagi persisted.

"Are you with the police?" Hana asked. "Did the Yakuza send you?"

"No, I'm a manga artist," Usagi told her. "Have you ever read 'Love Sorceress'? I helped draw that."

"I don't read manga," Hana replied.

"Oh," Usagi whispered. "Well, pardon me for harping on this, but why do you do it? Isn't it hard for you, killing people?"

"They're criminals," Hana answered. "They don't deserve to live."

"Everyone deserves to live," Usagi gently disagreed.

"But they hurt other people," Hana argued. "They destroy lives and families, all for their own gain. How can you defend people like that?"

"I'm not defending them," Usagi frowned, looking at her lap. "They shouldn't do things like that. It's wrong. People should help other people, not hurt them. We were all put on this Earth to look out for each other, to make this world a better place. But if what they do to other people is wrong," and she looked back up at Hana with those big blue eyes that could make the hardest heart melt, "isn't what you're doing to them just as wrong? There has to be a better way than killing."

"Maybe it takes a wrong to stop a wrong," Hana said. Now she was looking at her own lap.

"But what is it doing to you?" Usagi asked her. "How can you spill so much blood, even blood you consider tainted and unworthy of consideration, and not have it affect you?"

"Maybe," Hana began haltingly, painfully, "maybe somebody has to sacrifice - - to be sacrificed - - to save everybody else."

"Not like this," Usagi argued softly. "Hana, believe me, I know what it's like to be fifteen and have to do things that a fifteen year old shouldn't have to be doing. I know how hard it can be. When a girl is fifteen, she should be exploring new things. She should be experiencing the world and growing into her place in that world. She should be free to love and laugh, and thrill - - and dream. She shouldn't have another person's blood on her hands. No one should, but least of all her."

"It has to be done," Hana said, almost too urgently.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Usagi asked. Hana looked at her, startled by the question. "Do you have any friends?"

"I have," Hana swallowed, "Hideki-Otosan."

"Is that all? Do you have fun? Do you dream? Do you sing or dance or paint or write romantic poetry? Do you look at a dress and wonder how it will look on you, or enter an athletic competition and know you're going to come out on top? These are all things that fifteen year old girls do."

"I," Hana grimaced, "don't have time for those things. I have my mission. It has to be done. People have to be protected from those monsters!"

"Was that your decision," Usagi ventured sympathetically, "or was it Hideki-Otosan's?"

"Stop!" Hana snapped. "Stop trying to confuse me! Just stop!"

"I'm only trying to help you, Hana," Usagi said.

"Well I don't need your help!"

"You tell her," Hideki said, hobbling into the room.

"What did you find out?" Hana asked him, rising up to meet him.

"Well, part of her story checks out," Hideki related, looking suspiciously at Usagi, "and she's not with the police. But does that mean she's Yakuza?"

"Do you honestly think I'm with the Yakuza?" Usagi asked incredulously, squirming in her bonds. Hana looked at her, then turned and cast a doubtful glance at Hideki.

"Then why were you asking about Hana?" Hideki demanded again. Usagi looked away, but said nothing. "We can't take the chance. Pack what you absolutely need, Hana. We've got to vacate."

"Yes, Papa," Hana replied. Then she glanced at Usagi. "What about her?"

Hideki scowled. "We can't leave her alive. It's too much of a risk."

* * *

The Chiba apartment: Ichiro Ikegami lay on the sofa, wrapped in blankets and thankfully sleeping. Luna glanced at him, then returned her gaze to the laptop. She was networking with Artemis, who was at Minako's apartment, triangulating Usagi's communicator signal and monitoring the police and other radio bands for emergency information. Communicator signals to Minako, Makoto and Ami were open as the three raced to the scene. The black cat glanced at Ichiro again and silently prayed that the infant remained asleep.

She had accepted charge of Makoto's children reluctantly. Caring for human young was not something she signed up for when she got involved with the senshi. Children were too undisciplined, too reckless, too curious and far too selfish for her tastes. She'd rarely had a good experience with a child, even though it was the cruelty of a certain band of children that led her to stumble onto Usagi in the first place. And she feared that children would require more of her than she could provide. But Makoto had to go to Usagi's aid, so there wasn't any alternative.

A pudgy hand touched Luna's head and slid down her back. Luna's back end took on a life of its own and arched.

"You're a pretty kitty, Luna," Akiko said and stroked her back again. Luna let out an involuntary sigh.

"What was that, Luna? I didn't copy that," Artemis said through the audio link.

"Erm, nothing, Artemis," Luna replied quickly. Akiko stroked her again and Luna's back end arched of its own accord once more. "Akiko, dear, could you please stop doing that?"

"Why? Don't you like it?" Akiko asked with a pout.

"On the contrary, dear, it's quite pleasant. It's just that it's also quite the distraction and I must concentrate on what I'm doing."

"What are you doing?" Akiko inquired.

"I'm keeping track of the senshi, dear. You see that green light on the display?" and Luna pointed a paw to the laptop display. "That's your mum."

"Is she being Sailor Jup'ter?"

"Yes, she is. Your Aunt Usagi has gotten herself into a spot of trouble and Sailor Jupiter and the other senshi have to go help her."

"Mommy is really great when she's Sailor Jup'ter, isn't she?" Akiko posed. Luna nodded. "Luna, why can't Mommy be Sailor Jup'ter all the time?"

"Have you got the address yet, Artemis?" Luna asked, then listened to the response. "Excellent. I just pray they're in time." The cat turned back to the child. "Why would you want your mum to be Sailor Jupiter all the time?"

"Well," Akiko began, "Mommy is so great when she's Sailor Jup'ter. But when she's Mommy, she's always telling me I can't do this and I should do that, and that she can't play with me because she's taking care of Ichiro."

"Akiko, your mum only does that because she's trying to teach you how to be a well behaved young lady. You're only two years old, young one. You don't know everything yet."

"But I don't want to be a lady," scowled the girl. "And I'm almost three!"

"Akiko, everyone respects a refined, mannerly young lady," Luna told her, "and few people respect a selfish, ill-tempered hellion. You listen to what your mum says. It's for your own good and one day you'll come to realize that." Artemis said something into Luna's earpiece. "I've got to get back to this, Akiko dear. Please see that your brother's all right."

The chubby young girl exhaled with frustration and walked over to where Ichiro was sleeping. She glanced at the infant, then turned and leaned against the sofa.

"When do I get to do what I want to do?" Akiko fussed. But the mood quickly faded as she began to wonder what her mother was doing and when she'd be back.

* * *

"Papa, do we have to kill her?" Hana asked.

"She knows who you are," Hideki replied, glancing back at her. Then he moved to the weapons case and selected a pistol. "She can identify you. We can't risk you being identified. If the criminals of the city learn who you are, your effectiveness drops almost to zero."

"She's already identified me," Hana argued. "And if she's Yakuza like you say, that means they've already identified me. Killing her won't change that. And I don't even think she is Yakuza. She's just someone who stumbled into the wrong place. I thought we only killed the guilty, Papa. That's what you always said."

"You don't know that she isn't as guilty as the others."

"And you don't know that she is! And if we're wrong . . .!"

"Please, don't do this," Usagi pleaded. "Can't you see how much you're upsetting her?"

"Shut up," growled Hideki.

"Can't you see how many terrible things you've put her through already? Can't you see how much of her childhood you've already robbed her of by having her do this? Please don't add to what she's suffered through already! Please!"

"I said SHUT UP!" Hideki roared. A .32 revolver leveled at Usagi.

And the door to the stairwell exploded into the room. Hana reacted instantly, somersaulting back from the door and landing near a weapons case, ready to arm herself at a moment's provocation. What she saw was a blur of black followed by a flash of red across the room. Her eyes tracked to follow it and spotted a red rose embedded stem first in the gun hand of Hideki, the gun falling to the floor. Her eyes tracked back and found the blur of black to be a man, tall and lean, wearing a white mask and a black cape, top hat and tuxedo.

He straightened up from his crouch, confident in his control of the situation. Hana recognized it as his first mistake. Grasping a bo staff in one motion, the girl lunged forward. Tuxedo Mask pivoted to meet her attack, blocking the bo staff with his walking stick. By that time Hana had already redirected her attack, lunging at him with the staff at a lower angle. Quickly he parried her and just as quickly Hana redirected her attack, searching for a weakness.

"Tuxedo Mask, look out!" Usagi screamed, late as always. Still, the sentiment was appreciated. Hideki stood to the side, grasping his hand in agony, and watched.

As she attacked, Hana studied her opponent's moves as she had been taught. This strange man was quick and very skilled with his walking stick. He varied his moves to counter her attacks. First he would parry like it was a bo staff, then he would switch and swing it like a sword. He seemed to be able to intercept every strike she made, and only her aggressiveness kept him from attacking on his own. The constant clack of the two sticks slapping together echoed through the room.

At once, Tuxedo Mask's cape flew up into Hana's face. The teen recognized it instantly as a feint to distract her. She leaped up into the air, avoiding the slash at her legs aimed at sweeping her off of her feet. Hana didn't know it was coming. She suspected it was coming and her experience and analytical mind proved to be an aid to her. Landing nimbly, Hana engaged a feint of her own. She kicked high, knowing Tuxedo Mask would duck under it. As she spun, Hana brought her bo staff around and swung it. The staff clipped Tuxedo Mask on the shoulder and threw him off balance.

Usagi's gasp of alarm filled the room. Hana moved in to press her advantage, but her foe launched a barrage of roses at her. Though she was able to knock several away with her staff, the maneuver kept her at bay long enough to allow Tuxedo Mask to regain his fighting stance. It was a chance lost to win the fight, but Hana didn't allow herself to be disappointed. Other opportunities would come.

"Stop this!" Usagi shouted, writhing in the ropes that pinned her to the chair. "Please, stop this before somebody gets hurt!"

By now Hideki had retrieved his pistol. His right hand useless from the encounter with the rose, the man held it in his left and leveled it at Tuxedo Mask. His hand shook, both from the pain shooting up his right arm and because he didn't shoot well with his left hand. But at the distance he was from Tuxedo Mask, it would be difficult to miss the target.

Tuxedo Mask turned, pivoting away from Hana. The teen recognized the maneuver immediately and moved in to capitalize. Tuxedo Mask's cape flew up into Hideki's face, obscuring his vision and making him flinch back, pulling the pistol up. With a blur of motion, Tuxedo Mask's walking stick struck Hideki across the head before he even saw it. The burly man dropped like a weighted sack and sprawled across the floor.

That's when Hana struck. Her flying kick glanced off of Tuxedo Mask and spun the man to the floor. Her swung bo staff was deflected by his arm. It flashed back across his body to slap away her kick. Quickly Hana lashed out several more times with her staff and her foot and each time Tuxedo Mask warded them off - - barely. If she kept trying, she could get through. Determination spurred the teen on.

Then Tuxedo Mask caught one kick and shoved back, hoping to throw her off balance. Hana recognized it and pushed off the hand, executing a somersault and landing back on her feet in a fighter's crouch. Tuxedo Mask pulled himself up and was ready for action.

"Please stop this! We only want to help you, Hana! Please stop fighting us!" Usagi wailed, straining against the ropes that held her.

Four more roses launched at Hana. But the teen proved to be phenomenally fast, deflecting two with her staff and dodging the other two. By now Tuxedo Mask had positioned himself between Usagi and Hana, and Hana could see protecting the woman had become his main objective. If she wanted to escape now, she probably could, particularly if she threw something at the woman as she went. But her dear Hideki-Otosan was sprawled on the floor, unconscious and to get to him she would have to go through the masked intruder. Hana's expression grew grim and both Tuxedo Mask and Usagi noted it. So far she had fought only to disarm and disable, not to kill. She had no idea whether Tuxedo Mask was a criminal or police or just an interested third party. And she only killed criminals. But if it meant the safety of her Hideki-Otosan . . .

"Venus Love Me Chain!"

Hana turned and spotted Sailor Venus in the doorway leading to the stairwell. The golden links of her Love Me Chain shot out directly at her. With a lightning quick effort, Hana pushed the chain away so it didn't snare her. It did snare the bo staff and wrenched it from her hands. Somersaulting over to the far corner of the room in order to avoid a follow up shot, Hana rolled to a stop near another weapons case by the weight rack. With one motion, she picked up a ten pound barbell weight and hurled it in the direction of Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Venus. They easily avoided it, but it allowed Hana to pull some items from the case.

"Don't make this any harder than it has to be!" Venus snapped, her hands glowing with golden energy. "We're not out for blood here, but we're not going to back down!"

The teen's response was to charge Venus. There was a pair of nunchaku visible in her hand. Venus crouched, her legs spread, ready to move to the left or to the right. To Hana's right, Tuxedo Mask was preparing to lunge at her.

Suddenly something whipped out of the teen's hand in Usagi's direction. Tuxedo Mask moved to intercept and used his walking stick to slap a shuriken to the floor. While he was distracted, Hana charged Venus. Venus brought her hands up to use Crescent Beam. But suddenly Hana went down, sliding across the mat between the spread legs of Sailor Venus. Venus pivoted in time to see Hana spring up. Then she got a foot across the face and spun down to the mat. Hana raced up the stairs. She would have to come for her Hideki-Otosan later, if she could.

Gaining the first floor of the home, Hana spotted Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter entering. Instantly she pulled a capsule from her belt and threw it onto the floor. Smoke quickly engulfed the room. Using her ears as she covered her mouth and nose, Hana was able to pinpoint Jupiter. She gave the senshi a wide berth as she headed for the door.

"No you don't!" Mercury exclaimed, her wrist clamping onto Hana's arm. Hana looked and could see Mercury was wearing a visor, so concluded that it gave her the ability to penetrate the smoke.

"You got her, Mercury?" Jupiter called out. Already the smoke was beginning to thin and she could make out Jupiter's looming form.

"Yes, I," Mercury began, but a quick palm thrust to her chin cut the rest off. Mercury crumpled and loudly dropped to the floor.

"Mercury!" Jupiter exclaimed.

Hana could hear someone running up the basement staircase, probably Venus. Then her attention went to a crackling sound. She looked and saw Jupiter had a lightning rod extended from her tiara. It sparked with electricity.

"Supreme," Jupiter began, but Hana was already moving, "Thunder!"

Lightning shot out and passed just over the crouched teen. Her hair momentarily stood on end. Before Jupiter could get off another shot, Hana lunged up at her. Her nunchaku swung, knocking the tiara from the senshi's forehead. The nunchaku curled around and struck Jupiter across the stomach, doubling her over. A second arc brought it down across her back, sending her to the floor.

Venus reached the first floor and saw both Mercury and Jupiter down. Mercury was out, while Jupiter struggled to gather her wits. Racing past them, Venus burst out the open front door and looked around. But Hana had vanished.

Continued in Chapter 9


	9. Tell Me A Story

VIGILANTE JUSTICE

Chapter 9: "Tell Me A Story"

A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

The police arrived at 3-33-3 Higashi-Kanda, eliciting much staring and gawking from the neighbors. What they found were three of the famous Sailor Senshi, a young blonde woman clinging obsessively to her husband, and an unconscious man identified as the owner of the home. They also found a cache of weapons, all illegal to own, stored in a basement dojo. By the time the man, Hideki Kuroda, woke up, he had been identified as the owner of the weapons cache and one of the people who had imprisoned and threatened the young blonde woman, identified as Usagi Chiba. On the word of Mrs. Chiba and the three Sailor Senshi, Hideki Kuroda was arrested.

By that time, word had gotten back to Police Central and a request had been put in to take everyone to the Central Police building for Minato-ku, rather than booking the suspect in Chiyoda-ku. Everyone, including the officers, was surprised by this request, but they complied. Once at the Central Police building, Kuroda was taken to be booked, while everyone else was escorted upstairs. The reason became apparent when Sailor Venus saw the name on the office door.

"Relax, guys," Venus told them. "It looks like Superintendent Sakurada just wants a first hand report." Then she chuckled to herself. "Or another autograph."

They entered the office. Immediately Venus was set upon by the owner of the office. It was a little startling to see the occupant, a comely woman in her late thirties, smartly dressed in a crimson suit dress and black hose, capturing Venus in a bear hug and squealing like a fourteen year old. Venus endured it and after a few moments the others began to exchange amused glances.

"I'm sorry for dragging you all up here," Sakurada began, straightening her apparel as she walked behind her desk. "I wanted to hear first hand about what happened. But also I just couldn't resist finally getting the chance to meet the other members of V-Chan's group."

"'V-Chan's group'?" Jupiter asked Venus with a raised eyebrow.

"Billing was her idea, not mine," Venus maintained.

"First off, are you all right, Mrs. Chiba?" Sakurada asked Usagi. Usagi was still conspicuously clinging to Mamoru's arm.

"I'll be all right," Usagi said softly. "Please don't concern yourself. It's over."

"Um," Jupiter ventured, "is it OK if I make a call? I have to - - um, arrange something."

"Calling your husband about your children?" Sakurada asked. Jupiter's eyes bugged out.

"Y-You know about that?"

"I know a lot of things," Sakurada said. Then she took on a reassuring manner. "Don't worry. Your secrets are safe with me."

As Jupiter dialed out to tell her husband where to pick up the kids, Sakurada turned to the others. "As I understand it, this person you confronted was responsible in part for the string of gangland assassinations that have been occurring over the last few months?"

"You know about that as well?" Mercury queried.

"Yes, it's been a working theory in the detective bureau for about a month now. We were in the process of identifying the girl on the surveillance footage from Haneda when this came down. How did you manage to locate them?"

Everyone looked to Usagi.

"Well," she began, "Mich - - um, this person I know - - was able to find out the girl's name. And she said she got an impression of repeating threes and candy. So when I was walking home with my art, I spotted Higashi-Kanda and I thought that might be what she meant. So I went to the address and," and Usagi blushed self-consciously, "and knocked on the door."

"Usagi!" Mercury gasped amid four sets of eye-rolls. "What you did was incredibly dangerous and foolhardy!"

"Yeah, I know that," Usagi winced, "now. At least we found them."

The collective sigh was almost in unison.

"Got anything on this guy, Sakurada-San?" Venus asked.

"Yes, but not what I was hoping for," Sakurada replied. She typed into her computer terminal, then began reading from the file pulled up. "Hideki Kuroda, fifty-one, retired from the Tokyo Police Force on 8 September, 1998, on full medical disability."

"He was a cop!" gasped Jupiter.

"A pretty good one, too," Sakurada frowned. "I worked with him a few times. He and his partner, Detective Hanbei Saito, worked Vice. They specialized in busting Yakuza-owned gambling parlors, pornography smuggling and prostitution rings."

"Did Detective Saito have a daughter?" Mercury asked quickly.

"I believe so," Sakurada replied and typed some more. "Yes, one daughter. Her name was Hana."

Everybody exchanged haunted looks.

"Don't tell me that fifteen year old at Haneda is Hana Saito," Sakurada marveled.

"We've got it on good authority," Venus said. "So what happened to Kuroda and Saito?"

"Car bomb," Sakurada replied and her distaste for the memory was evident. "Detective Saito and his wife were in the car. Detective Kuroda was there to watch Hana while they were gone. I think they were going on a short trip. Detective Kuroda lost his leg in the explosion. He was right next to the car when it blew up. The Saitos were killed."

"That poor man," Usagi murmured. "And that poor child."

"Kuroda went on disability," Sakurada continued. "According to the records, he dropped out of sight. No contact with the department after his discharge from the hospital, other than to cash his monthly disability check."

"Probably took the kid, went underground and started training her for war," Venus summarized grimly, "against the Yakuza. It's hard to blame him."

"There's a right way to do things and a wrong way, V-Chan," Sakurada told her. "Vigilantes are not welcome things for police forces to deal with. We tolerate you senshi because you get results where we can't and you don't leave body counts in your wake. There's no place in civilized society for people like what Detective Kuroda has become."

"So you can hold him?" Jupiter asked.

"We can hold him for now on just the felony imprisonment and weapons charges," Sakurada explained. She glanced at Usagi. "I assume you intend to press charges."

"Is it necessary?" Usagi asked timidly.

"Usako!" Mamoru gasped, turning her to face him. "He was going to shoot you."

"But he didn't. And," Usagi grimaced, "he's suffered so much. And putting him in jail isn't going to help him. I forgive him, Mamo-Chan. He was just trying to protect Hana."

"Hon'," Jupiter interjected, "I understand you want to help him. But he's not going to stop doing what he's doing just because you forgive him. He's gone over the edge. And he's going to keep killing people as long as he's free. You're the one who can stop him, Hon', and you've got to do it."

Usagi looked to her lap. She grimaced, torn by the decision she had to make.

"OK. I'll do it," Usagi said at last. "But - - is he going to get the help he needs?"

"That's up to the court to decide," Sakurada replied, amazed by this petite blonde with the big blue eyes and the goofy hairstyle. "Meanwhile, we'll question Kuroda. Maybe we can get a line on where Hana Saito is." She buzzed the outer office. "The officer will take you to where you can sign a complaint, Mrs. Chiba. V-Chan, stop by my office tomorrow. I'll fill you in on what we've learned."

They all turned to leave, but Jupiter suddenly stopped. "Um, forgive me for prying, but do you have a relative named Haruna?"

"She's my kid sister," Sakurada smiled. "She's a teacher at Crossroads Middle School. She used to talk about you three all the time. Ami Mizuno was going to be her most successful student - - and Usagi Tsukino was probably going to be her least."

"Well I like that!" grumbled Usagi.

"Well then you'll probably enjoy hearing that she's read every manga you've done, Mrs. Chiba," Sakurada winked. "And now she brags about you all the time."

"Um," Mercury began uncertainly, "she isn't aware of . . ."

"No," Sakurada assured them again. "What I learn on the job stays in my office. Haruna doesn't know I know any of you. She doesn't need to know. Anytime we've talked about any of you, it's because she brought it up. She tries to keep in touch with your careers whenever she can. Haruna's very proud of her career and she's proudest when one of her students is successful." Sakurada thought for a moment. "Maybe you three could drop by Crossroads some day. I know she'd be thrilled to talk to you again."

"Even me?" Usagi wondered.

"Even you, Mrs. Chiba," Sakurada chuckled.

* * *

Usagi got home with the full intent of working on the next page of the story she was drawing. All through the ride home, she'd fretted to herself about where Hana Saito might be and what she could do to find the girl. But Mamoru had told her that until someone else came up with some information, there was nothing she could do. When she couldn't find any way to refute it, Usagi concluded that Mamoru must have been right.

"Luna!" Usagi called when they entered their apartment. "We're home!"

There was no answer.

"I wonder if she's out," Usagi wondered.

"She must be. Makoto's kids are gone, too," Mamoru said. He bent down and picked up a note. "Yeah, after Sanjuro picked up his kids, she went to confer with Artemis."

"Went to snuggle, more like," Usagi snickered. Noticing the answering machine flashing, Usagi walked over and pressed the recall button.

"Hi, Usagi. This is Rei," they heard Rei on the machine. "Just wanted to let you know I got back from America safely. Hope everything is all right." The message ended.

"That's weird," Usagi said to Mamoru. "She wasn't supposed to be back for three days."

"I wonder if something happened," Mamoru mused.

"Mamo-Chan, she didn't sound right at all! Can you please drive me over to the shrine?"

"She's probably just jet-lagged," Mamoru assured her. "Two trans-oceanic flights in as many days would tire anyone out."

"No, Mamo-Chan! Something's wrong! Please drive me over there."

"Usako, you're jumping to conclusions again," Mamoru replied. Resolutely Usagi turned and headed for the door.

"All right, I'll catch a bus," she said. Mamoru's hand shot out and grasped hers.

"You don't have to catch a bus," he sighed. "If it's that important to you, I'll drive you over."

"Thank you, Mamo-Chan," Usagi smiled. "You're probably right about it being nothing. I just have to know."

"It's OK," Mamoru grinned. "This way I can keep you from wandering into any other nests of criminals and killers and just knocking on their front door."

"I wouldn't do that," Usagi offered. She was only partly joking.

At Hikawa Shrine, Usagi and Mamoru looked all up and down the main building. Finding no one, they ventured around back. Timidly Usagi knocked on the door in back. After a time, they heard shuffling feet.

"Who is it?" they heard Rei ask with little enthusiasm.

"Rei?" Usagi ventured.

"Usagi?" Rei asked out loud, sliding the door back. "Mamoru? Why are you two here?"

"Rei, are you all right?" Usagi queried, the woman's apprehension an open book to anyone, not just the priest. "You sounded so . . . I don't know."

"Don't mind me," Rei said softly, heartache pouring out of every pore. "I'm just tired from the flight."

"How's Derek?" Usagi asked.

Rei seemed to wince. It was nothing overt, but Usagi seemed to see it.

Without another word, the woman came up the step and right up to Rei. Before the startled priest could move, Usagi took her into her arms and hugged Rei. And the feel of Usagi's arms around her was more than Rei could withstand. The damn burst and she began crying, soft shudders at first. Soon it was a torrent, bitter sobs, angry wails of pain. No explanation came and neither Usagi nor Mamoru pressed her. Usagi just held her so Rei could expunge her anguish and sorrow with the knowledge that she wasn't alone and she would never, ever be.

* * *

"Help desk. This is Ryoko speaking. How may I assist you?"

"Well," Minako said, a prankish smirk on her lips as she spoke into the phone, "my husband has been surfing for porn and he downloaded a bunch of viruses onto the computer. Can you help me get them out?"

The boldness of the question startled Ryoko for a moment as she sat before her computer terminal in her apartment. Then an idea formed.

"Minako? Is that you?" she asked.

"You guessed it! Either I am a lousy actress or you know something about Toshi-Chan that I don't," Minako quipped.

"Minako, is this call serious? Because if it isn't, you shouldn't be calling me on my business line."

"Relax! I just wanted to talk. And I wanted to apologize about the other night."

"Fine, but not on my business line," Ryoko reiterated. "If you're on here, someone with a real problem can't get through. Besides, these calls are monitored and you could get me into trouble!"

"Oh. Hey, I'm sorry. No problem," Minako said. "Uh, Big Brother, if you're listening, this is all my fault. Ryoko didn't have anything to do with it."

"Hang up, Minako," Ryoko scowled, though deep down she appreciated the subtle jab at authority. "I'll call you tomorrow afternoon - - on the set!"

"OK. Hey, want to get together Saturday?"

"Uh, can't," Ryoko said and found herself smiling uncontrollably. "I've - - got a date."

"With Seiji?" Minako inquired hungrily.

"Uh huh," Ryoko beamed on her end of the line. Then she sobered. "Now HANG UP!"

The phone disconnected. Minako put it down. Then she squealed happily and started kicking her feet out in front of her.

"Good news?" Artemis inquired, looking up from his laptop.

"The best!" Minako squealed.

"Sales figures on your CD?" Toshihiro asked, peeking in from the kitchen where he was preparing dinner.

"No," Minako responded with a cheshire grin.

"You've found a new way to stare at pictures of yourself?" Artemis asked. Minako heard Toshihiro chuckle from the kitchen as she lobbed a throw pillow at the white cat.

"Ryoko and Seiji have a date Saturday!" Minako roared. "Honestly, how did I get stuck with a pair of unromantic comedians!"

"Just lucky, I guess," Toshihiro quipped.

"Maybe karma was involved," Artemis added.

"Fine! When they're married, I'm not taking either of you to the wedding!" Minako fumed. "You still working on tracking Hana Saito, Artemis?"

"Yeah, but not with much luck. Tokyo's a pretty big place, you know. One fifteen year old girl could get lost in it really easily - - especially if she wants to." Artemis looked up with inspiration. "Hey, now that Rei's back, maybe she can help in the search."

"I don't know," Minako frowned to herself. "That message from her was weird. She didn't sound right. And she's back from America so soon? I wonder if she and Derek had a fight or something."

"Think?" Toshihiro asked, bringing out a tray full of food so he and Minako could eat in front of the television.

"Well, you know how touchy Rei is," Minako shrugged and dived for a bowl of noodles. "Maybe he looked at another woman and she saw him."

* * *

It was ten p.m. and receipts were being collected from one of the many pachinko parlors that dotted Tokyo like dandelions on a manicured lawn. While the Yakuza collection agent gathered the money on the inside of the building, two young toughs in traditional dark glasses and dark jackets stood outside the back door and watched. The pair were young Yakuza recruits, hired because they were expert at being physical and intimidating, owing to a lifetime of practice, but stupid enough for the moment to follow orders. How long they lasted depended upon how quickly they caught on to the facts that they weren't invincible and that they were cogs in a machine and that if they didn't mesh, they'd quickly be replaced.

"Wish I knew what was taking so long," grumbled one of the toughs. He was big and muscular, with slicked back black hair.

"Why, you got somewhere to go?" the other asked. He was shorter, but no less brutal, and seemed to take a belligerent attitude with everyone except those above him in the hierarchy.

"Yeah. They're bringing in another shipment of girls from the Philippines tonight," the tall one replied. "I want to get a chance to look them over."

"You looking for a wife?" snickered the shorter one.

"Hell no!" the tall one spat. "But I wouldn't mind breaking a few of the 'new recruits' in, you know?"

"I prefer Japanese women," scowled the shorter one.

It was the last thing he ever said. In the blink of an eye, an arrow pierced the thug's neck. Blood gushed everywhere as the man clutched at his throat, all before the amazed eyes of his partner. As the shorter thug sank to the ground, his life pooling around him, the taller thug pulled his .44 automatic and looked around. It was a second before it dawned upon him that the arrow had come from above him. Looking up, he saw a fifteen year old girl rapidly approaching him feet first from the roof of the pachinko parlor.

He expected to be kicked, so he moved to his right. Hana landed behind him, but shifted so that his head inserted through her bow. Pivoting, she twisted the bow so that the bowstring closed around his throat like a garrote. The gun fell from the thug's hand as he clutched at his throat. Hana kicked at the back of his knees, forcing the thug down and increasing her leverage. Holding the thug with the garrote, Hana pulled a knife from the sheath on her hip and sliced across her captive's throat cleanly and mercilessly. As he fell, she scooped up his automatic.

Trying the knob, Hana found the door unlocked. She burst in and rapidly confronted the Yakuza courier and the parlor manager. Two shots from the automatic dispatched them. While they died, Hana picked up the satchel of Yakuza money and headed out the door. Pausing only to take the gun from the other dead thug and reclaim her bow, Hana was off into the Tokyo night. She was gone before anyone discovered what had happened.

Continued in Chapter10


	10. The Hunt For Hana

VIGILANTE JUSTICE

Chapter 10: "The Hunt For Hana"

A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

Once again it was an unusual sight, but for the second day in a row the workers at the Central Police building in Minato-ku saw Sailor Senshi enter the building. The previous day it had been three and set inter-office gossip going. This time it was five - - and one of the five was the famous Sailor Moon herself. As they headed for the elevator and a meeting with Superintendent Sakurada, they all could hear the low murmuring.

"Ah, the life of a star," chuckled Sailor Venus.

"Honestly, I don't know how you stand it, Venus," Sailor Moon said anxiously, for the notoriety made her uncomfortable.

"Stand it," Jupiter chortled. "She thrives on it."

"You know, I don't have to take this character assassination from you," Venus jabbed playfully.

"Really? Who do you usually take it from?" Jupiter shot back. Everyone enjoyed the banter - - everyone, Mercury noted to herself, but Mars.

The five senshi met Superintendent Sakurada and two of her detectives in the holding facility in Police Central. Sakurada seemed pleased to see them, particularly Venus. The detectives didn't evidence the same enthusiasm.

"Well, they're all here, just like you asked," Venus told Sakurada. "Have things changed since yesterday?"

Sakurada nodded and waved them into a room. Inside the room was a conference table with four chairs and an observation window. The window looked into an interrogation room. Hideki Kuroda sat at the table in the interrogation room, along with another detective. The detective was asking Kuroda questions and Kuroda was steadfastly refusing to answer.

"Last night there were three more Yakuza killings," Sakurada told the senshi. "They were all hits on gambling couriers for the Inagawa-kai clan. The result was nine dead. Missing from the bodies, we estimate, were six weapons and three satchels full of gambling money."

Jupiter whistled.

"Curious behavior, given the previous killings," Mercury judged. "It would indicate her objectives seem to have changed."

"How so?" Jupiter asked.

"Before," Mercury explained, "her targets were usually middle or upper people in the Yakuza hierarchy. Guards and couriers are very low on the hierarchical chain and would usually only be collateral killings. These three incidents indicate that they were specifically targeted. Also the previous incidents were spaced out, indicating prior planning, and no valuables and only the occasional weapon was taken." Everyone looked at Mercury, but only the detectives were amazed. "My hypothesis at the moment would be that she specifically targeted these gambling profit couriers and their bodyguards to assemble a large cache of weapons and money, possibly to replace the cache lost on yesterday's raid of her home."

"Just what we were thinking," one of the detectives replied with new found respect. "How long have you been familiar with the facts of this case?"

"I've been aware of the string of assassinations for weeks now," Mercury replied, "but I only heard about the courier incidents just now."

Jupiter glanced smugly at the detectives.

"Needless to say, the Inagawa-kai aren't too happy with this," Sakurada spoke up. "Arrests they can deal with, but when someone starts killing their couriers and stealing their money, they tend to start shooting back. We need to find Hana Saito and put a stop to this before a war erupts and innocent people get caught in the crossfire."

Sakurada looked through the window at Kuroda and scowled.

"So far Kuroda hasn't divulged anything, either about where Saito might be or what her original objective was. So I was wondering whether any of you might be able to get something out of him."

All of the senshi looked to Mars. She noticed after a few moments and grimaced.

"All right," she heaved a sigh and listlessly headed for the door. "I'll try." One of the detectives moved to accompany her.

"Hey, Sailor Moon," Jupiter whispered to Sailor Moon as she sidled up next to the senshi, "what's up with Mars? Did she have a fight with Derek when she was in America?"

"Later, Jupiter," Sailor Moon whispered back. Her blue eyes dripped with pain and sympathy for her friend.

Sailor Mars entered the room, accompanied by one of the detectives. The detective already in the room stood up, surprised to see one of the famous senshi there. Kuroda was surprised as well, but quickly dropped behind a mask of sullen defiance. Mars walked over and stood across from Kuroda, the table between them. Everyone in the room suddenly had the sensation of hackles rising.

"Tell me about Hana Saito," Mars said in a soft, even tone.

Kuroda glared belligerently at her, but said nothing. Mars only stared. Their eyes met for a time. Then, after about twenty seconds, Kuroda looked away. Mars continued to stare. Kuroda glanced back up at her, then turned away again. Everyone in the room looked at her in wonder. Everyone in the next room watched the scene with the same feeling. Kuroda remained silent, but he was clearly uncomfortable. Mars continued to stare, and the two detectives couldn't help but think that the senshi's violet eyes seemed to be penetrating down to Kuroda's very soul.

Without warning, Mars turned and walked out of the room. The detective that had accompanied her quickly moved to catch up. They entered the observation room and everybody looked expectantly to her.

"I'm sorry," Mars replied, her demeanor disappointed and just a little embarrassed. "I couldn't read anything from him. I couldn't get my sight to work."

"Perhaps there was nothing to see," Mercury offered. "Perhaps he doesn't know where she is."

"Maybe, but that's not what I mean," Mars told them. "I couldn't get any impression from him. My," and they saw Mars flush slightly, unwelcomely, "well, SOMETHING is interfering with my second sight. I'm sorry."

"You did your best," Venus shrugged. "We'll just have to puzzle it out the old-fashioned way."

"Sailor Mercury," Sakurada ventured, "you said earlier that you thought her objective may have changed. What did you mean by that?"

"Simply put, the evidence indicates to me she's hoarding resources," Mercury responded. "There are two logical possibilities: She either means to carry out her next planned assassination and needed to replace the resources she lost when her home was raided, or she's assembling money and resources for a new and larger objective."

"Which would be?" Venus asked.

"Logically, the only thing that could be as important to her as finishing her original mission might be to secure the freedom of her surrogate parent and mentor."

"You mean an assault on the holding facility?" Sakurada gasped. "She means to break Kuroda out of jail?"

"It's a distinct possibility, Superintendent," Mercury said gravely. "One I suggest you prepare for."

"Superintendent!" one of the detectives exclaimed. He was on his cell phone. "Igawa's team discovered some papers at the suspect's home. They look like plans for an assassination attempt."

"Is there any indication of the target?" Sakurada demanded.

"Yes, Ma'am. Kon Nagakawa." The senshi looked to Sakurada.

"Nagakawa is one of the upper circle of the Inagawa-kai," she explained. "He runs the prostitution for the clan. If she hits him, after last night, we'll get our war. They'll tear up all of southeast Tokyo looking for her."

"Superintendent," Sailor Moon spoke up, touching the woman's jacket sleeve. "May I talk to him? Maybe I can get him to understand what he's doing and get him to tell us where she might be."

"It couldn't hurt to try," Sakurada nodded. "Harada, get surveillance on Nagakawa - - four teams. The rest of the precinct goes on full alert to find Saito - - all points bulletin and all free teams searching for her. Coordinate with Minato-ku and concentrate there for now." She glanced at Mercury. "And put the lock-up on full security alert. Everybody's to be armed and ready. Take her alive if you can."

Kuroda sat in the interrogation room, staring at the table in front of him. As the detective guarding him sat staving off boredom, Kuroda reflected back on his encounter with Sailor Mars. She just stared at him with those eyes, eyes that seemed to take on an unearthly quality after a while. He couldn't pinpoint how. Nothing about her had changed. And yet - - when she asked him about Hana, it was almost like she didn't expect him to answer with words.

The door opened and the detective perked up. Kuroda looked over and found Sailor Moon sliding in through the door sideways to accommodate the white wings on her costume. Everyone in Tokyo knew the famous Sailor Moon. And yet, she seemed so small and unremarkable. This little slip of a woman was the champion of Tokyo?

"Hello," she said, bending down to him and smiling. Kuroda looked at her, at her bright smile and the deep blue pools of her eyes and it was all he could do not to smile back at her. "I'm Sailor Moon. May I sit down?"

She actually waited until Kuroda nodded.

"I know what you want," Kuroda rumbled. "I'm not going to tell you anything."

"I thought you'd say that," Sailor Moon replied, her features shifting to a slightly forlorn look. "You feel like you're protecting Hana. You've protected her all these years, when she had nobody else. You stepped in and gave her somebody to love her when she had no one."

"I had to," Kuroda whispered hoarsely. "Hanbei was like a brother to me. Hana was," and he laughed quietly at the memory. "I was her favorite 'uncle'. She was such a bright child."

"You wanted to help her in her time of need," Sailor Moon continued. "That was very kind of you. I only want to help her, too."

"You want to stop her," Kuroda scowled.

"Of course. Can't you see what she's become?"

"A warrior," Kuroda said. "A means to exact justice."

"A way to exact vengeance," Sailor Moon countered softly. Kuroda glared at her. "And nothing comes of vengeance but sorrow. Oh, can't you see what your thirst for vengeance has done to her? You've stolen her childhood."

"The Yakuza stole her childhood!" Kuroda snapped. "The Yakuza stole everything from her! I showed her how to get it back!"

"No, the Yakuza stole her parents," Sailor Moon corrected him. "And she'll never get them back. By turning her into a killing machine, you stole her childhood." Kuroda lapsed into a sullen silence. "Does she laugh, Kuroda-San? Does she play? Does she dream? Does she fill her days with dreams of the heights she'll one day hope to achieve, or of the handsome man who'll sweep her off her feet and fill her life with joy? That's what a teenage girl does. I know it's too late to restore some of that. Blood and killing has stained her hands and stained her dreams. But I can try to help her move on from that, to move on from obsessions with vengeance and become someone of peace again. Please let me try to help her. Tell me where she is. Don't you owe that to her? She's already paid you with ten years of her life. Don't you owe it to her to let her live the rest of it herself? Doesn't she deserve some peace at last?"

Kuroda looked up at Sailor Moon and found her crying. And the sight of those tears reminded him of another sight from ten years ago. It was the sight of young Hana crying, knowing that her parents were dead, that her favorite uncle-in-spirit might die and leave her all alone in the world. He could see through the medicated haze he was in that she wouldn't be afraid so long as he stayed with her, that she would do anything he said so long as he didn't leave her alone. It was the face of an innocent girl who needed security in her life again.

And what did he give her?

"They had to pay," Kuroda said, almost a whimper. "I couldn't do it - - not without my leg. And - - and Hana was willing. She worked hard. She picked it up so fast. It was what she wanted."

"Maybe she wanted it because you wanted it," Sailor Moon offered. "Maybe it's not what she still wants. Where is she?"

Kuroda shook his head. "I don't know. I - - there was a safe house. I set it up in case the Yakuza found out where we lived. Just a little hole in the wall to hide out in case . . ."

"Where?" Sailor Moon asked.

"1-21-6 Sakura-kanda," Kuroda choked out. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up. Sailor Moon was smiling gratefully at him. All of a sudden he didn't feel so bad about what he'd just done.

"Get two units over there!" Sakurada barked to the detectives, the group observing from the next room.

"I'll go, too," Venus volunteered. "She's a handful, Superintendent." Sakurada nodded.

* * *

Hana looked through the binoculars and sized up her target. Nothing had changed. The target hadn't moved. There were still opposition everywhere. And the day was still too bright. Her plan to initiate action once night fell remained her best option. Hana, her body covered in a black leotard with shielded leather vest and boots, snuggled back into her blind on the roof across from her quarry. Her hood was in the satchel that sat next to her.

The binoculars resting in her lap, Hana absently reached into the bag. Fishing around between the cache of weapons she'd managed to salvage, steal and scrounge, the coil of rope and the building map, Hana came up with her food supply. It was some dried beef, a few rice balls and some bottled water. She took a rationed bite, mostly to relieve boredom. If she had a partner, Hana would have taken a nap. She'd been up late the night before and there was still hours until she planned to move. But the girl feared something happening while she was asleep, so she stayed awake. If sleep came, it came. Otherwise, she'd stay awake.

Her binoculars came up to her eyes again and Hana looked down from her perch. But she wasn't viewing her target this time. Her eyes locked on a man. He was relatively young and had the dark, dashing good looks that always seemed to make her heart flutter in her chest. He wore a tailored suit and it made him look just so exquisite. And Hana found herself daydreaming about walking next to him, her arm on his, feeling his virile masculinity send goose-flesh up the skin of her arm. She wondered what it would be like to be curled up against him, the both of them naked and gloriously in love. What would it be like to look up into his eyes and see his love for her burning in them like flames. What would it be like to have those masculine arms fold around her and know instinctively that she was safe and secure, and that the rest of her life would be bliss.

"I wish," she heard herself whisper and pulled back from the binoculars.

How many times had she caught herself longing for such things? The mission was the important thing. If she didn't concentrate, she risked failure. Hana's chest heaved with a petulant sigh. Maybe the mission was coming to an end. Maybe their time had finally run out. That would be bad, though.

Wouldn't it? Hana snuggled back into her blind. Her eyelids drooped once and then closed.

* * *

"Should we stick around?" Jupiter asked.

They were still in Police Central. Naturally Sailor Moon couldn't decide and Mars didn't seem like she cared whether they did or didn't - - or about much else.

"Without knowing where or when Hana Saito will strike, there doesn't seem to be much point to staying," Mercury judged. "Although I'm willing to wait around until Venus and the others report on the safe house."

Sailor Moon nodded. She eased over to Sailor Mars, who was brooding in a corner.

"Mars?" Sailor Moon ventured timidly. "Would you like to have lunch?"

Mars grimaced.

"My treat," Sailor Moon persisted.

"No, thanks," Mars whispered.

"Please?"

Mars sighed. "I know you're trying to help. I appreciate it, believe me. I do. But I'd rather be alone. Thank you for last night."

Jupiter watched them interact from across the room. She recognized the signs from her own past. This was more than just a quarrel between Rei and Derek. She could tell.

Their senshi communicators signaled. Mercury answered first.

"The police and I just tossed this safe house," Venus reported. "Nobody's here now, but she may have been here recently. There are signs that she may have stopped long enough to pick up one or more things."

"Weapons?" Jupiter asked over her own communicator.

"Maybe. Maybe other supplies. Don't suppose there's any possibility she grabbed an overnight bag and headed for the train station?"

"Doubtful, Venus," Mercury replied. "We're going to head home. Please be on alert."

"Great. No soaps for me," Venus replied, then ended the communication.

Everybody started to go, but they stopped when they saw Superintendent Sakurada pick up a phone.

"This is Sakurada," she said. "Get an armored van ready. I want the prisoner Kuroda moved to the central holding facility at the courthouse."

"You're moving him?" Mercury asked.

"Yes," Sakurada nodded. "I don't want to take the chance of him being her target. The courthouse is more defensible than this is."

Continued in Chapter 11


	11. Lonely Trail

VIGILANTE JUSTICE

Chapter 11: "Lonely Trail"

A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

The famous Sailor Senshi walked out of Police Central in Minato-ku amid whispers and pointing bystanders. It was something they were all by now used to. They were celebrities, after all, greater celebrities arguably than anyone in all of Japan. Used to crowds and crowd behavior both in her regular and in her senshi identity, Venus quickly surveyed the gathering on-lookers to see if she could spot any potential trouble. Oblivious to everyone, Mercury summoned her computer and began keying commands into it.

"Sailor Moon, Sailor Moon!" an eight year old girl squealed and broke away from her mother. The child ran up to Sailor Moon and the future queen knelt down to meet her.

"Hello! What's your name?" Sailor Moon beamed. The girl had shoulder length black hair and a round face. She wore a green blouse and a black and white plaid skirt.

"Natsumi," the girl replied. Brown eyes grew wide and she dared to reach out and touch what had up to now been only a legend in her mind.

"Mars," Jupiter said, easing up and whispering to her fellow senshi. "Anything I can help with? I have a strong shoulder if you need it."

"Thank you," Mars grimaced. "I just need some time alone."

"OK, your call," Jupiter persisted. "I don't know what happened over in America and until you decide to tell me, it's none of my business. But I've been through a few things in my life and maybe something that happened to me once is kind of close to what happened to you. And it's not a burden you have to carry alone. I'm just saying that, well, you know where to find me if you ever decide you need to talk or something - - or just to pig out on some pastry."

Mars bowed her head. A smile almost worked its way onto her mouth. "I'll keep that in mind. Grandpa always said enlightenment comes from many sources." She glanced up at Jupiter and a hint of the sadness was gone from her eyes. "And he always said your cinnamon rolls were the best he'd ever had."

"That little doll," Jupiter grinned.

"Are you bringing a bad guy to jail?" Natsumi asked Sailor Moon.

"Something like that," Sailor Moon grinned.

"Natsumi!" hissed a woman. She ran up and grabbed the child. The resemblance was instantly evident. "Please forgive her for being impertinent."

"It's all right," Sailor Moon said pleasantly. "I love meeting our fans." She turned back to Natsumi. "Are you in this district to meet your boyfriend for lunch?"

"I don't have a boyfriend," Natsumi replied, missing the teasing quality of Sailor Moon's question completely.

"A pretty little girl like you doesn't have a boyfriend?" Sailor Moon gasped. "Honestly, I don't know what's wrong with people these days."

Venus surveyed the crowd and noticed the amusement they had for the interplay between Sailor Moon and the child. She eased over to Mercury.

"And you wonder why I always wanted to be an idol," Venus murmured. "Look at the light in that child's eyes. Look at the smiles on everybody's face. You can't buy this, Mercury."

"Indeed," Mercury replied absently.

Venus looked and saw Mercury was scanning the area. The display was scanning all the buildings in the blocks surrounding Police Central. One thing in particular caught her eye, that being a blinking triangle atop an outline of a building. The shape of the building matched the eight story building directly across from them. Venus turned and stared up at the roof, but could see nothing. Glancing at Mercury, Venus saw the senshi had her visor down and was staring up at the same place.

"Got something?" Venus asked.

"Yes, I do," Mercury said softly. Then, louder, she said, "Ladies, we need to go back inside for a few moments." The other senshi looked at her curiously, but each one complied.

"Is this going to take long?" Sailor Moon asked once they were back inside of Police Central. "I'm getting hungry."

"My computer scan picked up a human life form on the roof of the building across the street," Mercury informed them. "The entity scanned as human female and the height and weight correspond to Hana Saito."

"Think it's her?" Jupiter asked.

"I also scanned multiple metal objects that my computer identified as guns, knives, shuriken and several pry bars. I also identified several non-lethal weapons."

"I'd say that's a big 'yes'," Venus said.

"The logical assumption is that she plans to extricate Kuroda-San from his cell," Mercury continued. "I also assume that she's waiting for nightfall and the cover of darkness."

"Well let's go get her," Jupiter exclaimed.

"That might not be such a good idea at the moment," Mercury told them. The others looked on curiously. "Saito-San has demonstrated a tremendous ability to fight in open spaces. Given her fighting style, open spaces are to her advantage, particularly against multiple opponents."

"She's pretty good in closed quarters, too," Venus said, recalling their encounter in the basement of the Kuroda home.

"You're saying we should wait for her to break into the jail and then grab her?" Sailor Moon asked. "Is that the best way to do it so people don't get hurt?"

"That's something that I can't really say, Sailor Moon," Mercury responded. "I'm only basing my assumptions on Saito-San's past behavior. I can't accurately predict how she'll react with the freedom and safety of Kuroda-San in question. But I think the likelihood of her capture is better in closed quarters and this is the best opportunity we have to lure her into such a situation."

"Then we'll do it that way," Sailor Moon nodded.

"I better tell Sakurada-San to cancel that prisoner move," Venus added.

* * *

A figure emerged from an office in Police Central. She was short and petite, but dressed immaculately in a black skirt and suit jacket, with a white blouse bound at the neck with a white ribbon tied in a bow. An identification badge dangled from the vest pocket of the jacket. The woman had short cropped hair and she wore thick black frame glasses. The woman's cheeks were sallow and her eyes were lined. She looked to be in her early thirties and seemed to be a veteran of the force and the stress the job entailed.

However, a closer examination would reveal that the sallow cheeks and lined eyes were artfully applied makeup and that "Police Detective Watashi" was actually Hana Saito. The real Detective Watashi was bound and gagged, struggling in the coat closet of her office where Hana had left her. It would be several hours at least before anyone found the real Detective Watashi, if Hana had any good fortune. A juvenile smirk crossed her lips when she thought of the embarrassment Detective Watashi would feel when someone did find her. She wondered if the woman would be more embarrassed by being jumped and trussed up or by being found wearing only a very unprofessional set of lacy pink bra and panties.

Hana stopped at a fire panel and opened the door. Inside was a fire extinguisher and a no longer used value to the sprinkler system. Glancing around to see that she wasn't observed, Hana removed a small caliber pistol from her satchel and taped it to the top of the recess behind the panel door. Next to it she taped a smoke grenade. The satchel of weapons was too heavy for her to carry all the way to lock-up and would be encumbering should she meet opposition, so Hana was planting weapons along her route in and out of the building. After all, anything could happen and it was good to be prepared.

Continuing down the hall, Hana looked for potential trouble and for another place to stash weaponry. As she walked, other thoughts came unbidden to her. Once she had Hideki-Otosan freed, what would they do then? They were probably both compromised to the police. Given the network of informants the Yakuza had in the Tokyo police, it wouldn't be long until they were compromised to the Yakuza as well, if it hadn't already happened. There's no way Hideki-Otosan's war against them could continue.

"No," Hana mumbled to herself. "It's my war, too."

But would it be so bad? They'd have to leave Tokyo, probably have to leave Japan and go to a country where Japan didn't have tight extradition agreements and the Yakuza didn't have any influence. That narrowed the choices down considerably. Indonesia or Thailand might be the closest place. Bolivia might be the safest. And what kind of life would they have: Constantly on the run or looking over their shoulder every minute, wondering if the next face they saw might be a contract killer or an undercover police officer.

But what kind of life did she have now? Constantly training or putting her skills to use to end the lives of others. She had no sympathy for her victims. They were all criminals and users and wouldn't shed a single tear if their situations were reversed. It's just that more and more often Hana found herself wanting something out of life besides this. Wasn't there more to life? What had that blonde woman said earlier - - what was her name, Usagi - - free to love and laugh, thrill and dream? Why did that suddenly resonate with the yearning she'd been feeling for a while now? What did that simple little manga artist, who was probably more than she seemed, know about such things? And why did Hana suddenly have the overwhelming urge to ask that woman about it, to pick her brain until Hana was satisfied and had answers to questions she couldn't form into words.

Several more weapons were planted by the time Hana approached the central lock-up. She eyed the observation cameras without looking like she was. Exuding a confident attitude, Hana walked down the corridor to the guard gate. Stopping at the window, Hana placed her satchel on the counter.

"Detective?" the guard inquired, seeing her badge but not recognizing her.

"Yamaguchi," Hana piped up. "I'm here to see my robbery suspect. Sorry about the bag. I don't think it'll fit through the security hole. Want me to hand it to you through the door?"

"Yeah, that'll work," the guard nodded and moved to the door.

Hana picked up the satchel and moved to the door, too. She heard the lock turn. The door opened. With lightning speed, Hana struck, delivering three quick blows that put the guard down. Instantly his partner was up out of his seat, in the process of pulling his pistol. Hana pulled a device out of her coat pocket and pushed the button. The remote explosive she had planted earlier blew the power junction box and plunged the entire floor into darkness. As the other guard moved blindly, Hana side-stepped while she pulled a pair of night-vision goggles from her satchel. Once the goggles were on, she attacked and quickly put the other guard out.

With the power out, the cell doors were on a key lock system. Finding the keys on the guard, Hana burst out of the monitor room for the door to the cells. Working quickly, Hana found the key and inserted it into the lock.

Then the lights came on.

Momentarily blinded, Hana pulled the night-vision goggled from her eyes. She looked around and found four of the Sailor Senshi bracketing her. A fifth, who she identified as Sailor Mercury, was down the corridor. She wore a blue visor over her eyes and held a laptop computer in her hands.

"Saito-San," Sailor Moon said, holding the Moon Tier loosely in her hands, "please surrender peacefully. It's time you stopped killing."

Hana's eyes darted from side to side, sizing up the situation. Her hand began to edge behind her.

"Don't try it!" Venus exclaimed sharply. Her finger was pointed directly at Hana and she was ready to fire Crescent Beam at a moment's provocation. Jupiter was on her opposite side and also crouched and ready.

"Saito-San, aren't you tired of it?" Sailor Moon continued to appeal to her. "Aren't you tired of the blood and the killing? Don't you want to be a normal teenager again?"

"What do you know of it?" Hana snapped. "Were your parents murdered before your eyes?"

"No," Sailor Moon answered. To Hana's surprise, she could see tears forming around Sailor Moon's eyes. "But I do know vengeance and killing isn't going to bring them back. And it isn't going to make them rest easier. And it hasn't made you rest any easier - - has it?"

Hana didn't answer.

"Would they want you to do this for the rest of your life?" Sailor Moon continued. "Or would they want you to be happy? Are you happy doing this? Is this what you want for the rest of your life?"

"Why are you trying to stop me? Why are you defending them?" Hana demanded. "Those Yakuza slime wouldn't give you a second thought!"

"I'm not. I'm not doing this for them. I'm doing this for you. I can't bear the thought of seeing you stain your soul with blood for one more minute. Saito-San, is this what you want for the rest of your life?"

"I have a duty," Hana replied. But she was wavering - - confused. The question Sailor Moon kept asking kept resonating in her brain.

"You've got a duty to yourself," Sailor Moon countered. "A duty to be everything your parents hoped for you. Please, Saito-San, let it end here. There's been more than enough killing. Let this moment be the first moment of a new life for you - - a life of peace. I'll help you any way I can. I promise you! But please stop this, for your own sake if no one else!"

A moment of immense tension passed; two, then three.

Suddenly Hana's hand pulled behind her, then whipped out bearing a knife. Venus fired even as the knife launched. Hana somersaulted backwards, evading the Crescent Beam, bringing her within reach of Jupiter. The knife sailed over Venus and struck its intended target, the bank of lights overhead. As the corridor plunged into eerie shadows, lit by a single bank of lights, Jupiter lunged. Hana blocked the lunge and exchanged several lightning quick parries with Jupiter.

"Venus Love Me Chain!" Venus shouted and launched her Love Me Chain. But as it neared, Hana managed to just spin out of the way and the chain ensnared Jupiter. Hana landed in a crouch. Seeing Mars was about to fire on her, the teen's hand came up and slammed a smoke capsule onto the floor.

Instantly the entire corridor was covered in smoke.

"Your left, Mars, approaching Venus!" Mercury said out loud and Hana realized that, somehow, she was being traced. Hana stopped, sensing Venus disengage the chain and prepare for her. Mars was not a problem.

"Mars! Flame Sniper!" Mars exclaimed, drawing her flaming bow and arrow. Instantly Hana knew the senshi had just committed a tactical error. Quickly the radiant heat from the bow, combined with the smoke from Hana's smoke capsule, proved to be too much for the sprinkler system. Instantly water showered down on Hana and the four senshi. Mercury was too far away to be affected, but the water took both Mars and Jupiter out of the game.

It also took Hana's cover of smoke away, but the screen had outlived its usefulness. With the sprinklers engaged, a fire alarm was going through the building at that moment. Hana knew any hope of retrieving Kuroda was gone. Her only option was to evade capture and escape to try again. But how? Jupiter was shrugging out of the Love Me Chain. Mars hung close to Sailor Moon, blocking one corridor, and Mercury was further down besides. Venus guarded the other corridor and Hana didn't like her odds of getting past the veteran senshi. There was no point in killing the remaining light bank because Mercury could track her in the dark. The only thing she had at the moment to keep them all at bay were lethal weaponry and the senshi fought on the side of good. She couldn't kill them - - not and be true to her code.

Then Hana noticed once again how obsessively Sailor Mars hovered near Sailor Moon. And she noticed that when she looked at Sailor Moon, Venus looked, too. Maybe there was a way to use lethal force to escape.

"SAILOR MOON, MOVE!" Venus shouted, bringing her hand up to use Crescent Beam.

She had seen Hana move toward Mars and Sailor Moon. But Mars and Sailor Moon were too slow in reacting. Mars tried to fend off the spinning kick Hana delivered, but it connected and knocked her to the floor. Venus was a moment away from firing, but pulled up when Hana grabbed Sailor Moon. The Moon Tier clattered to the floor as Sailor Moon was dragged in front of Hana, a forearm across the future queen's throat. Venus and Jupiter started to charge, but they pulled up short when a knife slipped out of Hana's sleeve and came up to menace Sailor Moon's face.

"Back away!" Hana shouted, trying to keep the quaver from her voice. "Back away, or she dies!"

Concluded in Chapter 12


	12. War's End

VIGILANTE JUSTICE

Chapter 12: "War's End"

A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

Sailor Mercury looked up from her computer. Her eyes confirmed what her sensor array reported. Hana Saito held Sailor Moon in front of her, a forearm around Sailor Moon's throat and a knife pointed to her jaw. For a moment she considered using Aqua Rhapsody, but Sailor Moon was too close.

Sailor Jupiter stood at bay, Sailor Venus next to her. Every muscle in her body longed to lunge at this fifteen year old girl with the moves of Jackie Chan and the intent of taking one of the most important things in Jupiter's life. She wanted to lunge, but she couldn't trust herself to be fast enough. And the shower of water from the sprinkler system prevented her from using her electrical powers. In all this water, Jupiter would end up electrocuting everyone except Mercury.

Sailor Mars looked up, on her hands and knees, and could only focus on the knife pointed at Sailor Moon's jaw and the surprised look in Sailor Moon's eyes. The water prevented her from using her fire powers. So did Sailor Moon's proximity. So did the paralyzing fear of what might happen. The thought of losing her, after losing her mother, after losing her grandfather, after - - after Derek tore her heart from her chest. It was too much.

Sailor Venus looked for a shot, an opening to use her Crescent Beam or her Love Me Chain or even her Love And Beauty Shock, and knew she didn't have it. Hana Saito was too good, too cagey. How does someone that young become that good, she wondered to herself and instantly remembered that she had been that good that young, and even younger. Venus imagined the frustration everyone she had ever fought had once felt, for she was feeling it now. The only way out of this might be to let her go. They could always pick up the trail again, and if another few Yakuza thugs bit the dust, well she wasn't going to feel as bad about it as Sailor Moon might. The key was to get Sailor Moon back safely.

Venus started to speak, but Jupiter started first.

"You let her go," Jupiter rumbled like a simmering volcano.

"When I'm safely away," Hana replied, mentally tracking the moments. The police would respond to the fire alarm any moment. She had to go now.

"If you so much as bruise her," Jupiter snarled, glaring at her with a wolf's eyes, "I will track you down and . . ."

"Jupiter," Sailor Moon wheezed out. "Don't. Don't even think it."

Jupiter was amazed, but not as amazed as Hana was.

"Please don't do this," Sailor Moon said to Hana. "Please let me help you. Violence will only bring more violence and everyone will suffer in the end. Please put down your vendetta and your violent ways and let me help you be a normal teenage girl again. It's not too late."

And Hana wanted to believe.

But the footfalls of a dozen men, led by Superintendent Sakurada echoed through the corridor as they approached from behind Mercury. Venus glanced to each side and found more officers filling the two branch corridors. Every exit was blocked and unless Hana could pass through cinder block walls, she was trapped.

"PUT DOWN YOUR WEAPON AND SURRENDER!" Sakurada bellowed forcefully.

Several officers behind her had their service pistols drawn and ready to fire. Right now Sailor Moon was the only card Hana had left to play. But how should she play it? Should she try to force her way out with the senshi as a hostage? Or should she surrender and trust that Sailor Moon could somehow help her and her Kuroda-Otosan? It wasn't a decision she was trained to make, either as an assassin or as a fifteen year old girl. Hana's arm tightened around Sailor Moon's throat.

One of the officers spotted this and fired. Mercury heard the shot rather than saw it, and she felt the bullet fly past her to her right. She was looking directly at Sailor Moon and Hana, as the other senshi were, so she saw it clearly.

She saw Sailor Moon twist in Hana's grasp and throw herself in the path of the bullet. The bullet struck her chest high and to the left. The impact shoved Sailor Moon into Hana and the two fell backwards onto the floor. Everyone, from police to senshi to Hana herself, experienced a moment of shock where time seemed to stand still.

"HOLD YOUR FIRE, HOLD YOUR FIRE!" Sakurada yelled.

Mercury shot forward and knelt beside Sailor Moon. She could hear Mars howling like a wounded animal to her left. Peripherally she saw Jupiter pounce on Hana Saito and lock her in a bear hug. Venus held down the girl's legs, but Hana offered no resistance. The teen was too stunned, for she realized exactly what Sailor Moon had just done.

Then the area was swarmed by police. Several officers took charge of Hana and cuffed her. The senshi, Sakurada and some other officers crowded around Mercury and Sailor Moon. Sakurada was already on her cell phone, summoning a medical unit. Mercury had pulled her bow off and was using it as a pressure bandage. Sailor Moon's breathing became rasping. She clutched at her chest in pain and all the senshi's hearts clutched in horror. Then Sailor Moon's right hand rose feebly, stained with her own blood.

"Please," Sailor Moon gasped out.

"Don't try to talk!" Mercury urged her.

"Sakurada-San," Sailor Moon persisted. "Don't be . . . too hard on her . . ." Sailor Moon swallowed. "Not her fault . . ."

Hana continued to stare, stunned and amazed.

They all heard the flap of a cape. Then several officers were shoved aside and Tuxedo Mask appeared. He and Mercury exchanged a silent, meaningful glance. With a single, graceful motion, he scooped Sailor Moon up and was off with her down the corridor at a speed few humans could match. Without a word, the four senshi followed as best they could.

Hana stared after them until they were no longer in sight. Then she bowed her head.

* * *

Blue eyes opened. A drug-induced haze fell away slowly and the room came into focus. She was in a strange bed with something beeping in the distance. A hand grasped hers. Usagi looked over in the direction of her right hand.

"Mamo-Chan," she smiled. The inner senshi, in their civilian identities, stood behind him. The outer senshi, also in civilian form, were to the side. She was happy to see them all. Then events came flooding back. "How badly was I hurt?"

"Traumatic Pneumothorax, with a fractured left scapula and fractured second left rib," Ami leaned in and said. She seemed relieved.

"Um . . ." Usagi grimaced and smiled sprouted on the group.

"The gunshot broke your second rib and punctured your left lung," Mamoru explained in layman's terms. "It was stopped by your left shoulder blade. The surgeon inserted a pin in your rib and repaired the pleura around your lung. You'll be sore for a few weeks, but you'll recover."

"That's good," Usagi murmured. "I'm sorry I worried everybody." Then a horrific thought made her eyes bulge. "My deadline! I'll never make my deadline! My editor will kill me!"

"He'll have to beat me to it," Rei leaned in. "What in Heaven's name were you thinking?"

"That officer was going to shoot Saito-San," Usagi said innocently. "I promised to help her."

"That's going a little above and beyond the call, Hon'," Makoto told her.

"She's never had a chance, Mako-Chan," Usagi maintained. "I didn't want to see her die. And I didn't want to see her die before she's had that chance."

Minako scowled. "Well, I hope this isn't too much of a bummer for you then, but I was at Superintendent Sakurada's office earlier today. She says Saito and Kuroda are being charged with multiple counts of murder. Kuroda probably won't see the outside again. Since Saito is only fifteen, she goes through the family court system, but she'll probably be locked up until she's twenty. And she may be a Yakuza target during her stay or after she's out."

"But that's so unfair," Usagi complained.

"Well, she did kill people, Usagi," Minako explained. "Sakurada-San said that's something the government can't officially condone, no matter how little they thought of the victims."

"No, that's not it! Of course what she did was wrong, but punishing her won't help her victims," Usagi gasped out, clearly agitated. "And it won't help her! Only forgiveness and guidance will help her!"

"Usako, you need to calm down," Mamoru advised her. "Don't stress yourself."

"It's the system we all exist in, Usagi," Ami offered. "Perhaps she'll receive the counseling she needs while she's incarcerated." Usagi looked down doubtfully.

"I did get some good news while I was with Sakurada-San," Minako added. "She told me to tell you that the officer who fired is getting reprimanded for improper use of deadly force," and she pulled an envelope out of her purse, "and she sent you an official letter of apology. And she said she'll come in and apologize in person if you want." Minako glanced at the others. "Plus the gunshot report the hospital filed is going to 'magically disappear', along with the names of the parties involved. Sometimes it pays to have someone on the inside."

Minako went fishing in her purse again and came out with another letter.

"She also asked me to pass this along to you," Minako said, holding out another envelope. "She said it was a letter from Hana Saito to Sailor Moon."

"Read it, Mamo-Chan," Usagi whispered. Mamoru took the letter from Minako.

"Dear Sailor Moon," he began. "I want to apologize deeply and humbly for what happened to you. I still can't understand why you jumped in front of a bullet to save an enemy. I guess maybe it's why you were defending the Yakuza I killed. I wish you hadn't risked yourself to save me.

"Please believe me when I tell you that I wouldn't have hurt you with that knife. I saw how all of your team value and respect you, and I thought I could bluff my way out. I was going to shove you aside and run when the officer shot. I only killed people who deserved to die and you don't deserve to die. That's why I wish you had let them shoot me."

"Oh, that poor girl," Usagi gasped.

"You were right," Mamoru continued, "about me wanting to stop killing and become normal. I think that's beyond me now, if it was ever in my reach. But if you were serious about wanting to help me, please visit me if they will let you. You seem very wise and perhaps you can help me after all. And even if you can't, please try to help my Kuroda-Otosan. He only picked the targets and trained me. I'm the one who killed them.

"Please find it in your heart to forgive me, if nothing else. I did not mean for you to get hurt."

The room fell silent after Mamoru finished reading the letter.

"Minako-Chan," Usagi said softly.

"Yeah?" Minako asked.

"Ask Sakurada-San if Sailor Moon can visit Saito-San."

Mamoru smiled warmly. "When you're better."

"Yes, Mamo-Chan," Usagi nodded dutifully. "When I'm better."

* * *

A week had passed. Usagi was out of the hospital and resting at home with Luna keeping a watchful eye on her. The story they told Usagi's parents and brother, as well as Ryoko, Usagi's editor and anyone else not in on their secret was that Usagi had slipped and fallen and broken her shoulder blade. It was a plausible story, given Usagi's reputation, and everybody accepted it at face value. And Usagi was all too happy to accept the doting her mother and especially her father visited upon her. Between them and Mamoru, it was almost like being a kid again.

She'd even managed to try drawing with one hand, as her left arm was still in a sling from her damaged shoulder blade. She'd confessed during one of Rei's incessant calls to check on her that she could manage it at a reduced speed. Then she complained that she was slow enough as it was and she was going to have to hire someone to ink for her just to be only three days late with the story. That's when Rei began to tease her and the argument would erupt.

Rei smiled at the memory. It was nice to have a little normal in her life. And between fussing over Usagi and preparing for the Bon Festival Hikawa Shrine was hosting this year, the priest was able to not think about Derek Johnson too much. Surveying the grounds and seeing all of the people praying at the shrine and all the kids bouncing from booth to booth made her feel just a little less alone. And it was weak moments like this when Rei contemplated calling Derek in whatever city he was in now playing his little boy's game and talking to him and maybe forgiving him.

"Hi, Auntie Rei!" a child's bellow echoed across the grounds.

Rei turned toward the sound and found Akiko Ikegami running up to her on her chubby little legs. The girl was nearing three years old, Rei recalled, and the priest would have to get her a birthday present soon. Makoto was walking behind them, Ichiro in her arms. To keep from being pulled off of her feet, Makoto had released the leash attached to the harness that Akiko wore and the tether dragged on the ground behind the girl. Rei bent down and caught Akiko, lifting her into the air.

"Hi, Akiko-Chan," Rei smiled and for once it wasn't forced. "Are you enjoying Bon?"

Akiko nodded vigorously. "Mommy's going to get me cotton candy!" Rei looked inquiringly at Makoto.

"I figured it was festival, why not," Makoto shrugged. "You only live once. And maybe Akiko will get lucky and meet her Grandma and Grandpa here. Then THEY can be the heavy."

"Since when have grandparents EVER been the heavy?" Rei chuckled and it brought a smile to her friend's face. "So how's the little man doing?"

"Growing like a weed," Makoto replied. "I may have to go back to working at the restaurant just to keep up with the clothing bills."

"Well he's certainly quiet and well-behaved."

"Yeah," Makoto's smile dimmed. "Sometimes he's almost too quiet, you know. I worry about it sometimes. Ami looked at him and said he's healthy. He's just - - quiet."

"Makoto, you'd worry no matter if he was quiet, noisy or just right."

"Would not," Makoto blushed and looked away.

"Maybe he'll be another super-genius like Ami," suggested Rei. "After all, she was quiet."

"Not if he's got my genes, he won't," chuckled Makoto. She looked Rei right in the eye. "So how are YOU doing?"

Rei's gaze dropped to the ground.

"Sorry if I brought up a sore subject," Makoto continued, "but we're all worried about you. You don't have to tell us what happened in America if you don't want to, but you certainly don't have to sit up here and hurt by yourself. We're all here for you."

"I know," Rei replied and was able to look Makoto in the eye again. "And I appreciate it. And I'd like to get passed this, because it's messing up my second sight. It's just - - I can't. Not yet. I want to, but . . ."

"OK," Makoto said. "If you ever do decide the time is right, you know the number. Say, why don't you come over next Sunday? You can have a home-cooked meal and spend a little time with Akiko and Ichiro. We can talk about anything you want to talk about. I know San-San is always happy to have you over."

Rei considered it. "All right. I'll be there. Hopefully the world won't be invaded Saturday night."

"Yeah," Makoto grinned. Then she turned to her daughter. "OK, kiddo, let's get you that cotton candy."

Akiko pulled out of Rei's grasp and dived for the ground. It was all Makoto could do to snatch her leash and restrain the child from dashing madly across the grounds. Rei watched them walk away and felt a warmness in her heart that hadn't been there for a while.

"Can I have a goldfish, too?" she heard Akiko ask.

"No, you cannot have a goldfish," Makoto replied.

"BUT I WANT ONE!" Akiko howled and Rei had to turn away to conceal her laughter.

After one more sweep of the grounds to see that everything was running smoothly, Rei entered the shrine to get a few moments to herself. She reflected on memories of past Bon Festivals when she would have to keep one eye out to make sure Yuiichiro didn't mess something up and the other eye on her grandfather to make sure he didn't get his face slapped. And she felt a longing for one more thing she could never have again.

And then she stopped. A figure was kneeling at the table.

"Kaasan?" Rei whispered in amazement.

"It's good to see you again, my little Rei-Chan," the ghostly figure replied.

She was a willowy woman, perhaps a little thin and as fragile-looking as fine glass. Long black hair cascaded down her back and violet eyes looked up at Rei and seemed to see everything. She wore the red and white robes of a shrine maiden and Rei suddenly wondered if she'd ever seen her mother wearing anything else. The sadness was still in her eyes, the sadness that had always been in them and only seemed to dim when Rei was near her. Rei walked over and knelt at the table to her left.

"I've missed you, Kaasan," Rei whispered shyly.

"I've always been here, Rei-Chan," she said. "You've grown up to be a fine woman. It made father so happy when you became a priest, and I have to admit I was proud, too. And you do so much more as Sailor Mars. I knew you were special when I held you in my arms at the hospital. I just didn't realize how special."

"Thank you," Rei said softly. She felt like she was five again.

"You're troubled," her mother observed. Rei suddenly felt embarrassed. "You still ache over what happened in America."

"You know about that," Rei replied, chagrined at being so transparent. "Kaasan, why do men have to be like that?"

"Men are human," she answered. "Humans are vulnerable to their weak moments. We all have our weak moments and we must forgive weak moments."

Rei wanted to argue, but couldn't. She sat silently. Her mother seemed to recognize the posture.

"Perhaps if you forgave him, and forgave yourself for trusting him, you would feel better," her mother ventured.

"How can I?" Rei argued. "Look at what trusting Dad got you."

Rei's mother saddened. "Rei-Chan, I did not die of a broken heart. I died of Leukemia. Your father felt terrible for his choices in life when I took sick and lamented my passing as much as you did. We are all vulnerable to our weak moments. We cannot banish them with a will of iron and an unrelenting critical eye. To be unforgiving of one's self is to live a sad and angry life. To be unforgiving of others is to live apart and alone."

"I can't, Kaasan," Rei said, her anguish painted on her face. "I'm not like you. I just can't."

Reflexively the spirit reached out, but her hand passed through Rei's shoulder.

"Perhaps one day you can," her mother offered. "You have a long life ahead of you and much time yet left to grow and learn. Dwell upon that which is right within you, Rei-Chan. Learn from that which is wrong within you rather than punish yourself for it. And know that I will always walk by your side and I will always love you."

Overcome with emotion, Rei just nodded.

"And your grandfather says 'hi'," her mother added with a smile. "And he says you worry too much and don't enjoy life nearly enough."

"He would," Rei chuckled through her tears. As she gazed on her mother, Rei realized that the spirit was fading away. "Kaasan?" she said almost desperately.

But the woman was gone. Rei took a few moments to get hold of her emotions and then rose to her feet. She went to the door, then paused. Rei thought of Derek And then she thought of Usagi. And then she thought of the match.

Maybe there were things she could still learn. And maybe she did need to enjoy life a little more.

THE END


End file.
